Sam smirked and crawled in next to her, ”Sure thing, m’lady.” Sam said in a slightly mock bow he didn’t have anything against David but he still couldn’t picture Kate as royalty nor her boyfriend who was far too busy to teach her something as simple as driving.

”Still rolling up in a limo?” Sam asked sitting next Kate as he looked from her to the window. He started to play with the window nearest him, ”figured you would have rolled up in a horse drawn-carriage by now.” Sam teased her as he looked for a mini-bar but had no luck. ”Not even a bar in here.” Sam said as he rolled the window up again then rolled it down.

”So let me get this straight princess, you have a limo, a personal driver, a prince to spoil you rotten and you are still too busy to learn how to drive?” Sam asked letting out a small chuckle before he looked back out the again rolled down window, ”Where we going anyways?” Sam asked figuring from the ride they were going somewhere fancy.

”Why have you been so busy?”

Kate rolled her eyes at the silliness and childishness that was Sam Johnson. She hated being called that and he knew it. However she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of getting a reaction. She crossed her legs and looked out the window as the door was closed and David made his way around to get back into the already on car.

“Yes.” She watched as the car began moving and the mansion faded away. She was only half listening to Sam as she knew he was making fun of her but somehow the word bar stuck out in her mind and she couldn’t’ help but react as her blood started to boil once again, “No there is not.” She looked over at him with anger in her eyes, “And mark my words if you drink anything more then you already have while you are out with me. I am going to have David drive us to New Jersey and leave you there.” She let out an exasperated huff and looked forward, “We are going out in public and you can’t even have the decency to think that maybe drinking isn’t the best idea right now.” She took a few deep breaths as she continued to listen to his words.

>>>>>So let me get this straight princess, you have a limo, a personal driver, a prince to spoil you rotten and you are still too busy to learn how to drive? Where we going anyways?

She took a deep breath making sure to calm herself completely before she spoke again, “We’re going to Macy’s.” She didn’t look at him though. She was still more angry then she wanted to admit. She looked back out the window watching the city change around them as they moved through the various parts of Manhattan.

>>>>>Why have you been so busy?”

Kate immediately looked at Sam as the words registered to her. There was something different about the question. He wasn’t joking or making fun of her he actually wanted to know. He almost seemed a little concerned or at least like he wanted to know. “Um… I am doing school full time and then there is my various charities and obligations with a number of organizations and then lessons with Jude and assisting the Julliard Orchestra Conductor I guess I just don’t’ really have time for much anymore.” She hadn’t really thought about it until now but even though he hadn’t really been around she had still neglected him when he was. She knew he was there for her but was she really being there for him.

She knew how much he hated New Jersey, especially the shore. Sam held his tongue and decided it was best not to ask to stop at a liquor store on the way to the store. He shifted his weight and leaned up against the door in the limo as they passed cars people and streets. Sam’s eye snapped back to her though when she mentioned how busy she was staying. Nodding his head Sam aggraded that she had been busy. ”Sounds like you need some ‘Me’ time.” shrugging his shoulders he wondered if she’d be open to hire someone to be in charge of taking care of Kate’s charity duties. He knew a few people that would be pretty good at it however he decided not to say anything. He knew Kate enjoyed that kind of stuff.

Sam remained quite for a little longer on the trip trying to nurse what was left of his hangover his eye remained shut opposed to watching the buildings and everything else blur by. He could feel the body heat from Kate and his head started to swim a little when his sixth sense was activated by mistake. Once they arrived to Macy’s however Sam managed to get out of the car before the door was opened for him. ”Thanks dude but I got this.” Sam said to the driver before the driver passed his door and went straight for Kate’s. The driver raised an eyebrow to Sam and Sam managed a smirk and shut the door behind him.

”Gonna be honest, been a while since I’ve been shopping…” he said trying not to reveal how much he actually hated the idea of shopping.

Kate let her mind wander in the silence. She really did need some me time in all honesty. She hadn’t taken a break in over a year and it was starting to take a toll. Every person needed a little time to themselves every once in a while. Kate was starting to forget what it meant to relax. She leaned on her hand and looked out the window. Maybe she needed an assistant or something. Btu she loved all the things she did. She wasn’t sure if she could give any of them up for someone else to take care of.

As the car came to a halt Kate was not at all surprised that Sam chose to let himself out. She however waited patiently and thanked her driver as he helped her out. It was always funny going to a place like Macy’s where tourists would look at people like her getting out of a fancy car and be curious as to who she was. She just hoped that Sam didn’t do something stupid and embarrass her in his current state.

“Why do I think it has been a while since you have done much?” she smiled walking past him and through the doors into Macy’s. She didn’t even look back at him to see if he was following as she started making her way to the bedding section. They were there for a reason and with Sam as she was she wanted to get in and out.

”Well with the riots and the fact that I haven’t been home in a few months, I mean I have been a little busy. Getting that me time in.” Sam said smirking to Kate as she entered the store ”Ladies and Gentlemen of Macy’s!” Sam said announcing his presence in a mocking English accent, ”Lady Kate”. Turning and giving Kate the thumbs up Sam followed her to the bedding section.

Rubbing the sleep out of his good eye Sam continued to trail behind Kate until they arrived in the section. Once they arrived Sam walked by a few bedding sets and nodded his head in a ‘yes’ fashion and then occasionally in a ‘no’ fashion. The ‘no’ nod was or the girlier sets he couldn’t see himself sleeping on. He imagined Athena would mock him quite a bit if he got a purple or pink bed set so he grabbed a blue one and tossed it too her. ”What do you think? Is it just me or what?”

>>>>>Well with the riots and the fact that I haven’t been home in a few months, I mean I have been a little busy. Getting that me time in.

Kate rolled her eyes as he commented on her life in his explanation. She often liked being busy. Sure it got tiring at times but she liked it and no matter what he thought she was okay with it.

>>>>>Ladies and Gentlemen of Macy’s! Lady Kate


Her eyes widened as she tried to duck her head a little. Not only was he being ridiculous but he had a terrible accent. Is that what he thought she sounded like? He was being kind of a jerk, well more so then usual. He had no right to be upset with her for being upset. She was worried about him and her anger was completely justified.

>>>>>What do you think? Is it just me or what?

Kate caught the sheet set and looked down at it. It was simple and blue. Nothing really remarkable about it. She looked up at him and gave him a polite smile, “I said you could get whatever you want Sam. If this is what you want that is fine.”

Sam shrugged, ”I just can’t decide!” Sam said mockingly as he went from one spot on the shelves to another picking up different colored packages then setting the back. ”I mean, I like blue and I like green.” he threw his hands up in the air, ”Too many choices.” he walked over to Kate then and smirked. ”Seriously though. Blue is fine. We can go now.”

Walking back the way they came towards the entrance/exit Sam spotted a vacant checkout line, ”Seriously though I thought you had gotten a little more control over your abilities.” Sam said giving Kate a raised eyebrow. ”Didn’t know that still happened that often.” Sam smirked, ”Unless you were all flustered from the show you got.” Shrugging his shoulders and laughing, ”I mean it’s expected you get a little hot from that, but you got to play it cool you know what I mean?”

>>>>>Seriously though. Blue is fine. We can go now.

Kate said nothing as she turned on her heels and marched towards the register. She was willing to talk about all of this and what had been happening but not right now. Not here. She couldn’t’ talk about it in front of these people. It was only a matter of time before it put her into a panic attack or something and she couldn’t’ do that in public. There was no saying if she could start a fire and then hurt all these people.

She smiled at the cashier and swiped her card. She dare not speak in fear of not being able to control what came out of her mouth. She took the bag and marched back to the not waiting car. “Thank you David.” She climbed in and waited for Sam. It was more than obvious she was having a mini freak out as the driver climbed into the vehicle. “Take us to the apartment please.” She needed to get somewhere where she could relax a little. A good portion of the things in her apartment were fireproofed just in case and the likelihood of her starting a major fire there were slim.

His teasing didn’t get another rise out of her like he wanted, shame. Sam enjoyed giving Kate a hard time. Quietly Sam sat in the car looking out the window as his hangover started to affect him more and more, the beer before the shopping trip wore off quicker than expected meaning he was going to have to get creative.

Ice formed around his head in a shape similar to a headband, this kept his head from hurting as much and it also distracted him long enough for him to shut off his sixth sense again that on occasion turned itself on. It definitely didn’t help that Kate was sitting next to him; her abilities would have only made the headaches far more severe. ”Still have issues with crowds?” Sam said finally breaking the silence as they rounded another corner. Sam had never been to Kate’s new apartment but he had a general idea where it was. He still had people on occasion keep an eye on her.

”You’ve been practicing breathing techniques right?” Sam asked still looking out the window knowing that if he looked at Kate and asking his question it would only make things worse.

Kate’s shoulders rose very aware of the subtle temperature drop in the car Sam’s ice was causing. It was small but she noticed these things. It was funny how much the pair opposed each other when it came to mutations. To Kate he was family and yet if he wanted he could kill her in seconds. It wouldn’t take very much. All he had to do was create some ice around her and her natural weaknesses would do the rest. It would literally take him seconds to reduce her to nothingness. However she knew he wouldn’t no matter how much she annoyed or upset him. She couldn’t say the same about herself and setting him on fire, but that would have been an accident.

As if he knew what she was thinking, “I am okay with them. I was okay with them before. I just have to make sure to keep my emotions in check. Keep control.” She doesn’t look over to him as she speaks. She simply watches the crowed outside of the window. She knows exactly what he is talking about and it isn’t’ her favorite subject. “I try to, however sometimes even breathing doesn’t help. Though I am getting better at putting out the fires once I start them. So that is an up side to everything.” That statement had far more sarcasm in it that she had intended. Though, having no control over her powers was kind of driving her slowly mad. She wanted nothing more then to be able to walk down the street without the fear of lighting something on fire. She had tried a year ago to lock herself up in the danger room but Sam hadn’t let her and now over a year later she still hadn’t gotten a handle on her new ability to spontaneously light things on fire at random when she was upset.

Control was one thing Sam had over his mutation, it wasn’t always the case but when he did manage to lose his grasp on his abilities the breathing techniques he had learned always seemed to slow things down for him. At least long enough to wrap his thoughts around his mutation and take hold. “Have you tried to set things on fire on purpose?” Sam asked her wondering if her powers had a limit to how much ‘fire’ she could keep locked up. He knew she didn’t like using her powers but if it helped her control them better then it couldn’t hurt.

“Think of it like a bowl filled with water.” Sam said not waiting for her to respond, “If it has no where to go it keeps building till it leaks over the sides. Maybe you just need to use a faucet every now and then and drain some fire?” Sam asked shrugging his shoulders as he continued to look out the window as people, cars, and streets passed by.

Sometimes it was like there was a switch in Kate’s brain. She could be the most calm and well collected person on the planet one second, then the most pissed off and annoyed the next. As Sam spoke that switch flipped and she went from being mildly annoyed but okay to being pissed, which for her was a bad thing.

She pushed open the door as the car halted and started marching into her building. Stopping only for a second to smile at the doorman as he opened the door. “Why would I want to set anything on fire on purpose?! The point is to stop setting things on fire. If I could I would never set anything on fire ever again. But I can’t do that now can I?” She pressed the button on the elevator over and over in rapid succession as if it would make the thing come faster. She didn’t really want to talk about this in the lobby of her 5th avenue high rise.

Once they were in the elevator and the door was closed she turned to Sam with determination all over her face. “Do you just not remember how my mutation works? I try to come to that school every day to let go of a little fire. And if I can’t get there I simply find another way to let out some power.” Her face softened as she thought of things she hated to think about. The real terror of her powers. “If I don’t I run the risk of history repeating itself.” Her words seemed to trail off at the end as she turned forward and looked up at the numbers changing on the LED screen. There was one thing that Kate was more afraid of then anything in this world and it was losing control of her mutation.

Sam followed Kate for the most part trying not to give her a mocking smile every time she looked back to him, but it was hard he enjoyed giving her a hard time. ”I didn’t forget how your mutation works Kate, “ Sam rolling his eye slightly, ”Don’t forget I was the one who helped you in trying to control it.” Sam lifted his hand up and it covered itself in ice before he lowered it and then shook the ice off.

He knew that the close quarters of the elevator and prolong exposure to the cold wouldn’t put her mind at ease. It was more for demonstration purposes and to prove a point. ”You control it, not the other way around. Keep your cool, and breath. I have had to deal with the same things only the other end of the spectrum.” leaning against the elevator wall, ”I’ve also had years more of practice then you so I know what I’m talking about.” Sam yawned and placed his hands behind his head.

”Just keep smiling and relax. Worrying all the time doesn’t help any. Your better at controlling your powers than before right? It’s just a work in progress.”

Kate rolled her eyes. For someone who said that he knew of her mutation he sure didn’t act like he did. She was very much not in the mood for any of this right now. School was getting ever more stressful as they got further into the semester. She didn’t really have the time to babysit her adult teacher and mentor. You would think a man that called himself an educator would have better sense. Apparently not.

She shivered as the room lowered slightly thanks to Sam using his mutation, something she chose to ignore as she watched the numbers rise on the digital screen before her. She was rather pissed right now and it was taking all she had to keep from lighting something on fire. Something like Sam. However, that meant that she wasn’t concentrating on the temperature of her own skin anymore to keep it low and she wasn’t stopping herself from raising the temperature of the small elevator.

“Honestly, Mr. Johnson I don’t give a shit.” One of the interesting things about Kate since she had opened herself up to her mutation more, her anger had gotten worse. It wasn’t like she had a short Fuse. She could take a lot. It was more that when she got mad she got really mad really fast. Which was surly not helping with her ability to control her powers. And the less control she had the more frustrated and annoyed she got. It was really a vicious cycle.

Once they had gotten to the Penthouse, Kate marched across the small hall to the door jamming her key in the lock and forcing it open letting Sam follow her. She got all the way to the middle of the living room before she turned with fire in her eyes. “Sam I’m sorry but I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear about how I should breath right now and calm down and relax. That isn’t me. I don’t’ relax. I am tense and stressed all the time. Yes I know it’s not healthy but that makes very little difference.” She took a deep breath counting to 10 in her head and calming herself slightly before she continued.

“You haven’t helped me with training in over a year. Yes in part that is my fault but it is still true. You can’t come in on some random day when I am waking you up and you are still drunk and try to be my teacher again. Life doesn’t work that way. Either help me learn or don’t. My mutation is not waiting for a time that it is convenient for you.”

She hadn’t known she was upset with him about this until this moment. It had been months and months and months since she had seen him and she hated it. She let out an exasperated yell and aimed a fireball at the actual fire place before she lost control. In a second the thing lit up in white flame before calming to a nice warm orange.

When she said she didn’t give a shit Sam did his best not to smile. It was clear she was getting more and more frustrated with him. Why he didn’t know why but it was clear to him that she was. So instead of leaving Sam decided to stick around, he had gotten his bed sheets so the main reason he was with her for the moment had been fulfilled however she was upset now, which meant he would linger a bit longer. The fireball was a noticed appreciation of her control over her powers. There was a time when she was terrified to even light a candle. She had grown.

His appreciation of her control however was short lived when she decided to make verbal note about how he was, well a terrible teacher. His nostrils flared and he walked over to her fridge without making much of a noise till he could locate something with a bit of alcohol in it. He still had a headache and he was still pretty depressed and irritated from the events that transpired over the past few months. Events that he wasn’t sure if Kate was aware of or not. ”You're right.” Sam said his head in the fridge as he rooted around for beer. Sam himself took a deep breath trying his best not to start yelling at Kate. She didn’t deserve it.

No beer…”You’re right.” Sam said sighing and shutting the fridge irritated that what he wanted wasn’t there. He didn’t feel like hard liquor so he didn’t even bother opening the fridge. His stomach was gurgled with a stomach churn. He didn’t really feel like being here anymore. One less student. ”I guess it was terribly inconvenient for me to be under some sort of mind control for a few months on end which resulted me in kidnapping a few of the kids that I’m there to protect. Almost killed a few of the X’s as well.” she didn’t know about his history, in fact only a few people did until everything happened, which led to the majority of the mansionites mistrusting him and even fearing him. Sam decided not to mention how he was being controlled.

Sam started to walk to the door now angrier than he had been in some time, ”Sorry again for inconveniencing you. Your highness.” Sam turned when he got to the door and gave a mock bow, ”It won’t happen again.”