(Continued from Planning the Resistance.)

There was a surprise waiting for her in her room after the meeting. When she had left, there had been nothing in her room except for the bedding, basic toiletries, and the bear that she had found sleeping with her when she had woken from her nap. She assumed Hunter had left it with her, after she had fallen asleep eating her ice cream. Now, though, there was more things in her room. Someone had realized that she didn't have any clothes with her other than the dress she was wearing and her bathrobe. Someone had also picked out clothes that seemed to be in her size and laid them on the bed in neat piles.

She was too tired to try anything on, or even to hang anything up in the closet, so for now she gently removed the piles from the bed and placed them on the floor. She could tell that the clothes were all well made and stylish. Tomorrow she would inspect them further, for now she picked out a set of silky light green pajamas to wear to bed. She brushed her teeth with a brand new toothbrush, then turned off the light, leaping quickly under the covers to avoid as much exposure to the dark as possible. The blankets would protect her.

As she lay in bed, her mind continued to whirl with all of the thoughts of the day. As tired as she was, she still couldn't fall asleep right away. The meeting had given her a lot to think about, like the difference between terrorists and freedom fighters. What they would be called depended on who won in the end, because they would have the right to write the history the way they wanted. She also wondered if they were following the right approach to changing the law, whether it was best to infiltrate and stop the organizations that support the law and attack the camps to break out the other mutants or whether it would be better to approach things in a more legal way.

As the daughter of a senator, she had absorbed some information about how laws are made and changed. Laws were changed when the Supreme Court found the laws to be unconstitutional or when Congress rewrote laws that invalidated old ones. From the sound of it, what the resistance was planning to do was get rid of the lobbyists that were supporting the law. That didn't make sense to Katrina, since the law had already passed. She just couldn't figure out how what they were planning was going to work. Maybe it would make more sense if she had paid more attention to politics she would understand, but what she did know she had absorbed mostly by osmosis.

Snippets of everyone's speeches kept running through her head. Calley had said that if the attack on the camps was a decoy, it was worthless. It might actually make changing the law more difficult. The big red Abyss, Kazelf's friend, wanted to get revenge on Congress and have mutants take over the country, persecuting humans the same way humans were persecuting mutants. He had been rather passionate about it, but he was only half as scary as that shadow girl who had calmly, perhaps even eagerly, talked of killing people and spreading out their guts on the ground for no reason at all except to cause a distraction. Katrina shuddered. She would be avoiding that girl at all costs. Then there was Kazelf, who talked of the future of the country and the world with his hand rested on her shoulder. He agreed with Abyss, that things had to change for the better for mutants, but did he agree with the red giant's violent methods?

What would the future hold? What would the future history books say about their little mutant resistance?

It was quite some time before Katrina fell asleep.

(Continued in Nightmares and Nightwanderings.)

Christmas Morning

Katrina had been pushing thoughts of her parents to the back of her mind for a long time. She had convinced herself that they didn’t want her at home in order to distance herself from them mentally. If she could think that they didn’t want to see her, then she could convince herself that she didn’t want to see them either. It allowed her to be angry with them for not coming to find her without putting any of the responsibility on herself for disappearing. Not thinking of them was a coping mechanism, a wall of protection her brain had built up to keep her from feeling too lonely for them. Katrina, however, didn’t know that she was doing it.

On Christmas Day, however, she couldn’t help but think of her family.

Christmas morning arrived and Katrina’s radio began to play carols as her alarm went off, reminding her not to sleep until noon.

I’ll be home for Christmas,
You can plan on me.

As soon as Katrina realized what day it was, she felt the loneliest that she had in a long time. She tried to push away the thoughts of her family, but on Christmas she just couldn’t bring herself to banish them from her mind. I wish I could talk to them today.

Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.

Christmas was always special for their family. Christmas Eve her parents usually had to go to some fancy senator-party. Christmas Day however, they spent the day just as a family, opening presents in the morning, making brunch, playing games all afternoon, then hitching Galahad up to their little sleigh and going for a sleigh ride through the woods. When it snowed, that is. Sometimes they went for a carriage ride instead.

Christmas Eve will find me
where the lovelight gleams

As she thought about it, she became more and more convinced that she should call home. She could say hello and wish them a Merry Christmas. Even though they had sent her away to school and couldn’t call her, that didn’t mean she couldn’t call them. Hopefully her mother had already told her father that she was a mutant and he had already forgiven her. Or maybe she hadn’t told him at all, and they could skim over that point.

Decision made, she hurried down to Kazelf’s room to borrow his cell phone. She knocked on the door and was greeted by a very groggy elf with rumpled silver hair. When she asked for his phone he handed it over with a grumble that she couldn’t really understand, then he shut the door and, presumably, went back to bed. Katrina wondered if he would even remember that he had given it to her.

Back in her own room, the radio was still playing Christmas carols.

I’ll be home for Christmas,
You can plan on me.

She turned it way down, so she could hear and nervously dialed her home phone number. She told herself not to be nervous as the phone rang once. They’re only my parents, there is no need to be nervous. Twice. Someone picked up.

“Dumonde residence, this is Senator Jean Dumonde speaking.” It had been so long since she had talked to him.

“Daddy?”

“Katrina! Is that really you? Are you all right? Where are you?” She had assumed that they either thought she was still at the school, or they would know that she had been moved to the resistance. She had thought, or rather had told herself, that if they had wanted her home, they would have come to get her. The details of the resistance being housed in an unknown location hadn’t occurred to her. His question made her realized that she really didn’t know where she was.

“It’s really me. I don’t know exactly where I am, but I’m fine. I’m with the others like me.” Did he know she was a mutant or not? Had her mother told him? The conversation wasn’t going at all in the direction that she thought it would go.

“They have kidnapped others as well?” Now Katrina was getting confused. What is he talking about? The resistance hadn’t kidnapped her, they were protecting her from Stalkers and the camps!

“Not… really. It is protection, not kidnapping.”

“Oh god, they haven’t brainwashed you have they?” Well, that would be indeed dramatic, but why would anyone want to brainwash her?

“What? No. Everyone here is nice.” She tried to make him understand, but she herself was confused by his questions. Who was this ‘they’ he kept referring to? Was it the resistance or the ones who had attacked the mansion?

“Katrina, what have the mutants done to you?” Oh. Katrina figured out the miscommunication before her father did. He still didn’t know she was a mutant, obviously, and somehow he thought mutants had kidnapped her. She remembered the threatening note that had been thrown through their window. If he thought mutants were trying to kidnap her, then logically when she disappeared it must have been mutants who had done it. Now she would have to explain the truth. There was no use lying to her father. She had never done it before, and wasn’t about to start. It’s just that the truth is so sticky.

“They… mutants haven’t done anything to me. I… I’m a mutant too.” There. Now he knows, and I’ll see how he responds.

“They didn’t… genetically experiment on you. They couldn’t possibly have found a way to make humans into mutants!” Oh wow, he still thought mutants had kidnapped her. He sure is difficult to explain things to.

“I don’t know what you mean. I was already a mutant. I found out right before I switched schools.” Hopefully that will help him understand, maybe it would even save her mother from getting in trouble for not telling him about her new found abilities. Could he hear the hope in her voice? Could he tell that she was longing for his acceptance?

No, he couldn’t.

There was a long pause and Katrina waited for his response, holding her breath. It seemed like an eternity. This was the last point in her life that she would have to wonder about whether her father would accept her for who she was.

When he finally spoke, it was with a calm voice, “You’re a mutant. All this time we’ve been worried about you and you’re a mutant?” His voice began to rise with the last word of that sentence. Katrina swallowed hard. His response was not what she had been hoping for. “You thought you’d just run away to be with your own kind, and we would think that you were killed or captured in that mutant raid? Is that it? I suppose you never thought we might be worried about you. Are you hiding anything else? Is there anything else you’ve lied about?” His voice hurt her ear and she had to hold the phone away from her ear. There were tears in her eyes. I didn’t lie!

“I… I…” She tried to begin explaining herself, but he didn’t give her the chance.

”Well, if you want to be with your little mutant friends, then fine. You can just stay wherever the hell you are and we won’t look for you or worry about you any more.” She heard a slam, but he hadn’t hung up yet.

“Wait… Don’t hang up! I can explain everything. I didn’t lie and I didn’t choose to be a mutant! I’m still your daughter, why can’t you understand that?” She was shouting into a dial tone. He couldn’t hear her, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t have understood even if he had been standing in the same room as her. She choked on a sob then threw the phone at her pillow, where it hit, then slid off the bed onto the floor. Then she hugged her bear, pulled the covers up over her head, and buried her own face in the pillow, letting it absorb her tears and the sounds of her crying.

Christmas Eve will find me
where the lovelight gleams.
I’ll be home for Christmas,
If only in my dreams.

(See also: Jean's side of the conversation.)

The knock on the door had been soft, but loud enough to cause Kaz's ear to twitch in his sleep, waking him up. He must have been close to waking up already since he heard it at all. Taking care to not wake Nicki up as she slept he made his way to the door. Waiting on the other side was Kat asking to use his phone. It didn't register to ask about it as he handed it over. Only one of his eyes were open as he mumbled something unintelligible before wiggling his fingers in an improvised 'goodbye' and shut the door.

He made his way into the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair. Brushing his teeth, as can be imagined, was finished quickly but not carelessly. Hair was trickier, couldn't do it fast without messing it up more. Kaz was still combing his hair when he neared his dresser to get dressed. About this time he heard yelling from one of the rooms down the hall. Thinking he recognized it, he made his way out of his room and down the hall, comb stuck in his hair and forgotten.

It didn't take long to realize it was Katrina yelling. Now at her door he heard something clatter onto the floor as Katrina began to sob, christmas music playing softly in the room. "Katrina?" He knocked softly before reaching for the handle when she didn't respond. As soon as her sobs became muffled he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Seeing the girl crying under the covers hurt him, but then his mind put the phone and the day together. <She's only 12. It is christmas....Maybe no one was home, I'm sure it's hard not to be with family...> He honestly wouldn't know. He didn't think anymore after that, it could wait. Kaz moved and sat on Kat's bed, his eyes full of sympathy and care. Leaning over a bit, Kaz put his hand lightly on Kat's head and began to stroke the blanket covering her with his thumb. If she wanted to stay under her covers, that was fine with him, Kaz just wanted to make sure she knew he was here for her. Though, <A good hug might help....>

Katrina felt someone sit down on her bed and start to rub her back, just like her mother used to do. When it seemed like the worst of the sobs were through, she rolled over and peered out from under the covers with tear filled eyes to see who was there. It was Kazelf. She crawled the rest of the way out from under the covers and sat next to him, still sniffling and hiccupping and clutching her bear, her feet dangling off the edge of the bed.

As Kat removed herself from under her covers, Kaz stayed silent giving her all the room she wanted. When she sat next to him clutching her bear, Kaz reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek before putting his arms around her, holding her close with his head on hers. He wasn't sure what he could do for her, but hugs usually helped. If she wanted more space to herself, he'd gladly give it, if she needed or wanted to cry more he'd hold her close until she was alright.

It felt good to be hugged, and Katrina hugged back. “I… called home…” Her voice was shaky, but she had to tell someone what had happened. “I…told my dad… I’m a mutant. He thought… he thought I ran away on purpose. He thought I purposely tried to hide it… that I was a liar.” Once she got started, the story came spilling out. “He… he said I didn’t care that they were worried, but now they won’t care about looking for me anymore because I’m a mutant. And…. I can’t… go ho-ome.” By the end, she had dissolved back in tears and buried her face in Kazelf’s shirt again. He muffled crying almost as well as a pillow, but pillows didn’t hug nearly as well.

Kaz hugged Katrina tighter as she wept against him. Rubbing her back gently, "I'm sorry Kat." His voice was soft. "It's not your fault, you know that right? You didn't do anything wrong." He kissed the top of her head. A few minutes passed before Kaz said anything more. "What about your mom? Is there a way to contact her personally?" Kaz didn't know what to say to the girl. He wasn't great in these situations. When she said she couldn't go home, he wanted to say what he believed: Home is not a place, it's in your heart, it's where people care about you, where you feel safe and comfortable...But now was not the time.

Eventually Katrina had run out of tears. Kazelf’s soothing voice and back rubbing helped remind her that there were still people around who would care for her and love her and even kiss the top of her head. She took several deep breaths and then wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. She could really use a tissue.

“What about your mom? Is there a way to contact her personally?” Kaz asked her.

“I don’t know,” Katrina answered hesitantly. “She has a cell phone.” She hardly dared hope that she could talk to her mom. After the disastrous conversation with her father, she wasn’t sure how talking to her mother would go. What if her mother had been standing there listening in on her conversation with her father? If they called her cell phone now, her secret might be discovered too. Or she might have to pretend to get mad at Katrina too, but Katrina wouldn’t be able to tell if she meant what she was saying or not.

Looking down at his shirt, he noticed it was fairly damp, though he didn't mind at all. Standing up slowly, "I'll be right back." Moving into the bathroom, he pulled out a fresh roll of toilet paper. Sighing to himself, <Is it right to get her hopes up? We could call her mom...but, would it help or hurt her more? If we don't find out soon, she could go on with a hope her mom would be receptive to her...only to be hurt later, but. If we find out now...if she reacts the way her dad did, it would crush her more. Though it would be quicker for her to get over it in that case...> He moved back to the bed. <Maybe her mom would be on Kat's side, I'm sure that would make Kat happy.>

Kaz of course didn't know about Kat's mother being a mutant or who her father was, if he did, he would probably think very different things than he had been. Handing the toilet paper to Kat. "I know it's not kleenex, but I hope it works..." Putting his arm around the girl again, he rubbed her back. Kaz took a deep breath, "I could call your mom if you'd like...Make sure she's alone." It was obvious he was a bit apprehensive of the thought, but also that he wanted to help however he could.

"I know it's not kleenex, but I hope it works..." Kaz said, offering the roll of toilet paper.

Katrina accepted the roll with a little smile, "It's okay. We call them 'long kleenexes' at my house." She crinkled her forhead at the thought of her house. Luckily Kaz distracted her from brooding on it with his next question.

"I could call your mom if you'd like...Make sure she's alone." Kaz sounded a little hesitant to call someone he didn't even know, understandably so, since he didn't know if Kat's mother was at all like her father.

Katrina tore off a piece of 'long kleenex' and wiped her nose. She figured she should probably fill him in on the rest of the story, now that she had calmed down a bit.

"I don't know if we should call her or not," Kat responded. "She's a mutant like me, but my father still doesn't know about it. I wouldn't want to get her in trouble too if he found out. I think she sort of was hoping he wouldn't find out about me, and that was why she brought me to the school." Katrina tilted her head.

"It was all so confusing on the phone, I think my father didn't know what really happened with the school. He seemed to think that mutants had kidnapped a whole bunch of human kids and were experimenting on them." She looked at Kaz, what would he make of the situation? She sniffed and reached for another piece of 'long kleenex'.

Kaz rolled Kat's words around in his head along with the rest of what she had told him.
*Her parents are/were looking for her.
*Her dad is a total and complete asshole..and a moron who hears, sees, and believes what he wants to. And probably a mutant hater since..
*Her mom's been hiding the fact that she and Kat were mutants, most likely out of fear.
*Kat's mom cares for Kat quite a bit.
<If we could talk to her mom alone...It would probably go alright. She sounds like a decent woman.>

Crossing his arm over his chest, Kaz's leg bounced up and down rapidly as he thought. "Well...I'm sure a lot of people weren't told the truth of what happened, others probably were told lied or half-truths, while other just believe what they want." Sighing he tilted his head back a bit to look at the ceiling.

"You said they were looking for you right? So either they involved the police or a P.I. I would guess they'd go with the police since P.I.s do more investigating than missing persons...I think.." Kaz looked at Kat with a slightly confused look and shrugged. "We could come up with a fake name and title, like um..Lieutenant Wilkins from the NYPD or something and call your mom. Um.." Kaz raised his hand, rotating it while twiddling his fingers, obviously trying to get the words to come to his head. "Ya know, like, say..ahh..... 'we have some information regarding your daughter. i'd like to speak to you in private without any distractions or others overhearing.' " Kaz looked at Kat with a 'does that sound as bad as I this it does' look.

Katrina smiled at Kazelf’s elaborate hand gestures that accompanied his thoughts about what he should say. It was funny to think of Kaz as a police officer, writing speeding tickets.

“That sounds good to me,” she approved of his plan. “Do you need the number?” Katrina wrote the number on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to him. She was starting to cheer up a little and kicked her feet that dangling down the side of the bed. Talking to her mother was looking more and more possible and Kaz was being so helpful.

He also had a comb stuck in his hair, she now noticed. “”Um, Lieutenant Wilkins? You have a comb stuck in your hair. The fashion police are going to have to come and arrest you.”

Kaz was glad Kat liked his idea, though he was a bit nervous. Talking to her mother, who knew nothing about him, and deceiving her...That wasn't completely true, he was fine deceiving her, he's fairly good at it, at least he thinks. It was more talking to her that he was nervous about. He didn't want to screw up. "Do you need the number?" Kat asked him. Nodding he took the number when she offered it. At that moment it occurred to him, he wasn't nervous for himself really, but for Kat. She seemed to be cheering up, he didn't want to screw it up for her, have her hopes go up, then come crashing down.

...Hopes crashing. That's what her father had done to Kat. Thinking about that irritated Kaz a great deal. Having grown up with parents who were extremely distant, he wasn't attached to them, but having parents..a father...who cared about you and then reject you, he couldn't imagine what that must feel like. Kaz really wanted to snap the bastard's neck at the moment, though he hid it behind a smile.

"Huh...comb?" Reaching up he ran his fingers through his hair until he found the comb. Kaz chuckled a bit, "Well it seems I do..." Looking around as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Will you protect me from the fashion police? I don't want to be arrested." The last bit he said with a slightly whiny worried tone.

Taking the comb from his hair he grabbed his phone form the floor and began to dial the number, stopping short of hitting the send button. "Umm...I feel stupid...I don't know how to address you mom..what's your last name?" Kat simply stated 'Dumonde'. Nodding Kaz hit the send button and put the phone to his ear as he took a deep breath.

One ring, two, three...Voicemail. Simple and to the point. <That works I guess.> He quickly went over his hastily made story, finishing just as the BEEP occurred. "Mrs. Dumonde, I'm Lieutenant Wilkins with the NYPD. I have some information regarding your daughter. I'd like to speak to you in private without any distractions. You can reach me at this number, it's my private cell. Good day." Hanging up the phone he looked at Kat as he let out a deep breath. "I got her voicemail."

“I’ll protect you from those nasty unfashionable police-y types,” Katrina promised.

She listened to the phone conversation, or rather message, for it seemed that Kaz had gotten the answering machine. She was a little disappointed that she couldn’t talk to her mom, but it wasn’t the worst possible outcome either. The hope was still there that she would return the call soon.

“Will you tell me if she calls you back?” she asked Kaz hopefully.

Of course he would, she was being silly for having to ask.

"Um, Kaz? Thank you for doing that for me. And thank you for cheering me up." And with that Katrina gave him a big hug.