Detective Jorge Cervantes, a man who has thrown himself into the line of danger time and time again. A man who has stared into the faces of some of the most crazed mutant criminals, who has been shot at, stabbed, sucker punched, has had his own crown knocked loose at least once, and bitten by at least once by a cat during a rescue mission now drove through the metropolis of New York, towards Inwood Park for his most stress inducing task yet…he had a date.

Now, do not be fooled. It is not that Jorge has never been on a date before. Plenty of times back in Miami his family or friends set him up on blind dates, most of which ended when a woman would ask if he knew Jimmy Smitts or Don Johnson (seriously?). The unfortunate truth is that Jorge had never really had a steady relationship after his teenager sweetheart Nichole. At first it was because no female measured up to her, but as he got older, those sentiments finally washed away and Jorge really had wanted nothing more than find someone compatible with him. That, sadly, never seemed to happen for him.

Especially with the types of dates his family and friends would come up with.

After time though, Jorge had simply thought it was useless. No one would want to see a battered down mutant police detective, but that urging was always there. In the end, no matter what he thought about himself, he did want to meet someone. And that is why he asked the woman named Gemma out tonight. He had a feeling that she was not the type to ask him about Don Johnson…

“God, at least I hope so,” he muttered to himself and continued on.

He had spoken with her at least once on the phone already to confirm their date for tonight and seemed like he would be rather punctual. Almost a first for Jorge since he tended to run on his own sense of time and space where five minutes could turn into thirty. But as he drove through Inwood Park, he made his way towards the place he dropped her off the first time. It was a mansion. And not just any mansion, it was the Xavier Sister School mansion. So far in his life in New York, he has already met at least one kid who attended there and he had to smirk to himself at the thought. He guessed he was just meant to keep bumping into them.

As he drove the roads that finally made their way into the large clearing of the mansion grounds, he had to stare for a second. The place was massive and seemed to be extremely opulent if it were merely someone’s home. But Jorge knew it was a school and one that Gemma worked and lived for. That really made her noble in his eyes because so few people actually committed themselves to these types of things anymore and it warmed his heart to see that people like that still existed in the world.

As he drove up to the gate Jorge slowed his ‘67 Chevy Impala and sighed as he killed the engine. Part of him really thought he was crazy for asking her out. He was forty after all, and his line of work could be extremely dangerous not only for him but those he cared about. Still, he knew she could take care of herself if the situation ever came down to it.

Finally, after he sat in his car for a moment or two, Jorge took a steady breath and climbed out of his car. And apparently he cleaned up well.

Freshly shaven with his hair nicely combed, Jorge Cervantes, the usually grizzly looking individual walked up to the front door, dressed simply in a nice gray dress shirt, black slacks and a black jacket over that. Before he said good night to her they had agreed that things would not be too formal but they could not each show up in just PJs either. So he picked out the nicest clothes he owned that ran that medium range. So here he was, nicely dressed, reservations made at a restaurant days ago, and a bouquet of purple and pink roses already in hand.

He had forgotten this anticipation. It had been awhile. So, with steely nerves, Jorge walked up to the gate and made to speak into the intercom he saw her speak into last time. After all, a gentlemen does not arrive for a date and honk the horn for a lady to come out.

"Here we go," he muttered with only a small stab of nervousness in his voice.

Well, they both agreed the dinner date would not be very formal, and didn't require dressing up real fancy-like, but still. Going on a date, fancy or not, was still the same as ever. And Gemma found herself humming as she spent the better part of the day getting ready for it.
Sh was not sure if the Mansion rules included some kind of a dating policy, or at least rules on who should be allowed to knock on the door and who shouldn't. She decided to rescue Jorge from getting trapped in one of the many tricks called the Mansion's defense system. She got ready in time. Being fashionably late is for teenagers.

Walking out of the Mansion, she looked back; in some windows there were lights, although there was still light outside. Kids were doing what kids usually do on a quiet Saturday evening. They would be fine without her for a few hours.

Wearing a dress (she was not ready to let the summer go yet) and a black coat, Gemma walked across the Mansion grounds to the gates; she could see the familiar car outside, and the familiar (but better dressed) figure standing next to it. She smiled as she let herself out and closed the gates once again before she walked up to him.

"Well, I can't say I have all the kids tucked in for the night" she chuckled once she got close enough "But I think I'm ready to go."

Jorge did not even have time to press the intercom when a vision had simply appeared before him. At first he felt a little bad that he did not have time to be let in and drive up to the front door to get her, as he was raised to do, but soon those fears evaporated when he cast his eyes open her. He watched the gentle sway of her summer dress beneath the black coat and the smile on her face as she came up, opened the gate herself and came around to meet him. And for that second when she stepped towards him, most of the anxiety that Jorge felt from before finally just disappeared. All he was left with was this moment in which he was happy to be here.

>> "Well, I can't say I have all the kids tucked in for the night" she chuckled once she got close enough "But I think I'm ready to go."

“I think that you look fantastic,” he said with a smile on his face that he simply could not remove. “And I’m sure you’re students will be fine. After all, with a glare like yours I’m sure that outta hold them for awhile,” he joked as he came up and stood before her. After a few seconds, he finally held up the bouquet of flowers he had brought. “Uh, I picked these up for you. I…really should have checked if you were allergic first, so I apologize if you are. Though I sincerely hope you’re not.”

Jorge knew this must have all sounded funny, but he managed to get away from it with some dignity. He could see from her dress that the two of them seemed to be pretty much on the same wavelength. She did not overdo her dress and he did not appear in tux and top hat. So far things seemed to have started off pretty well and he hoped and prayed that such fortune would follow them the rest of their date. The detective had a notorious way of stumbling onto bad luck during important events and he had hoped that curse would not follow him on this one.

Finally he headed over to his car and opened the passenger door for her.

“Shall we?” he said softly.

>>“I think that you look fantastic. And I’m sure you’re students will be fine. After all, with a glare like yours I’m sure that outta hold them for awhile. Uh, I picked these up for you. I…really should have checked if you were allergic first, so I apologize if you are. Though I sincerely hope you’re not.”

"Say what about my glare?" she looked up at him, arching an eyebrow, before she took the flowers, and her smile returned. "Thank you. I'm not allergic, and there are very pretty."

It is very hard to blush when you have such dark skin. Sometimes Gemma was truly grateful for that. Holding the flowers, she walked around the car and got in. So far Jorge was acting like a complete gentleman. It was nice. Very hard to find a true gentleman in these modern days.

"So" she asked once he was sitting in the car too "Where are we going?"

Jorge had closed the door to his car once Gemma had climbed in and circled around to the driver’s side, where he followed in suit. Tonight would be one of the few nights where he would actually get to be himself and pull off the guise of the hardened police officer. Not that when he was on the job he was a lie, he was in fact being Jorge, but just a more amplified, harder edged Jorge. That meant no bull, no games and straight to the point. But despite that, he really was a nice guy and he relished the few and far between opportunities he had to show it off.

>> “So…where are we going?”

Jorge smirked as he buckled his seatbelt. “Well, since I figured we be too nicely dressed for McDonalds, I figured we could try this place I heard some co-workers talk about. A French Bistro by the name of the Village. From what I’ve heard, it reminds me a place I used to go when I was back in Miami.”

He then turned the key in the ignition and then cringed with an odd, belting voiced issued forth from his car radio:

”Love-love-love
I want your love
You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want it bad
Your bad romaaaance…”

”Ugh!” Jorge shook his head as he quickly changed the channel on his radio to something that was softer so it could just remain in the background as they rode in his car. He cautioned a glance to Gemma and just started to laugh. “I really am sorry about that. Seems that whenever I turn on a radio, something embarrassing comes on. Especially since I don’t listen to whoever that Laddy Ba-ba, or whatever her name is.”


Jorge ignored the flush on his cheeks and half-wished he had not shaved so that he could have at least hidden it with his stubble. But, he decided it was just better to push on and get their date going. Things had to get better.

He smiled as he pulled his car into drive and headed away from her home and watched the mansion shrink further and further in his rearview mirrors before he finally gave her another glance. She really did look great and he was actually glad he had asked her out on this date. He did need to go out more and honestly Gemma seemed like a great person to get to know. He only hoped that he would not run out of things to say and bore her with awkward silence. But what was there to talk about? He did not really want to talk about work since such things were probably not appropriate to speak on for a first date and she had already met Lizzie.

“How has your week been since I last saw you?” he asked with genuine interest and continued back towards the city and to The Village restaurant.

>>”Ugh! I really am sorry about that. Seems that whenever I turn on a radio, something embarrassing comes on. Especially since I don’t listen to whoever that Laddy Ba-ba, or whatever her name is.”

Gemma chuckled as he switched the station. "My daughter seems to listen to that all the time. She sings it too, she's just got a better voice." she added with a smirk. All right, so maybe it was awkward to bring up her children on a date. But it was all right, it wouldn't be fun if she'd left all the awkwardness to Jorge. Besides, yes, she had kids. That was part of the deal. Duh.

>>“How has your week been since I last saw you?”

"Surprisingly quiet, for living in a mutant school" she smiled "I'm getting to know the rest of the staff and the kids. And New York City. So far, everything's new and bright, shiny eyes, bushy tails, the whole deal. And some of those kids actually have tails." she added with a smirk, before she straightened her face. "Sorry. I just like my job."

>> "My daughter seems to listen to that all the time.

The truth was that Jorge was not at all weirded out that Gemma had children. She obviously had a life before he appeared and when he had asked her out, she had already revealed that she had kids and still he asked her. He was not a man to freak out easily. He did not know where this thing with Gemma would go. They could have a mediocre date and simply remain as friends and then he would probably never have to meet her children. But if things did turn out differently, if this date only did push them closer together, then that would be an outcome he would gladly walk into.

“Well at least you get a better rendition of the song,” he replied with a smirk.

>> "Sorry. I just like my job."

Jorge smiled as he continued to his drive until they re-entered the city. “Haha, no need to apologize. It’s good that you find you job so rewarding. So few people do these days.”

He liked conversing with her. It was calming to him and she did not have the sad-eyed droopy face that Lizzie had whenever he tried to talk to her. Sure he had conversed with a few of the cops in his precinct, chatted and joked around, but the truth was that they knew very little about him. He was a private man and tended to keep to himself, though he was willing to open up to someone who he felt was worth opening up to. Unfortunately he had met few people truly like that here in the city.

“I wish I could’ve said the same about me week. I won’t bore you,” he said with a chuckle, “but suffice to say I had to arrest someone with extremely large hands.”

The rest of the drive had not been as awkward he had originally feared it would be. They had plenty to talk about, mainly about her school and his old life in Miami as well as couple of current highlights. The city around them disappeared as they talked and shared about each other and before they knew it, the drive was over. Jorge immediately caught sight of the lit sign that read “Village” and he pulled over to the parking lot. Yup, this was definitely a date.

Once he pulled the car to a stop, Jorge gave off a brief sigh before he undid his seatbelt, climbed out of his car and walked around to her side. Then, he opened the door for her, again, as a gentleman should.

“Well, let’s cross our fingers and hope that my choice in restaurants was not a bad one,” he said as he turned towards the building. He could already hear the living French music as it flowed out to them and he took one more steadying breath before he offered his arm to her.

>>“Haha, no need to apologize. It’s good that you find you job so rewarding. So few people do these days.”

He was right; so few people did. Gemma had all kinds of jobs in the past ten years; she had to fend for herself even before she graduated high school, so she took pretty much anything she could find. Some jubs were fun, others were boring, others were downright terrible. She was very, very grateful she ended up where she belonged.

>>“I wish I could’ve said the same about me week. I won’t bore you, but suffice to say I had to arrest someone with extremely large hands.”

Gemma chuckled at that. "Well, that sounds exactly anything but boring." she said "You will have to tell me that story later..."

They had a lot to talk about. Gemma usually found it easy to talk to people, but in her current occupation, few of them saw her as an equal; she was a mother, a counselor, a staff member or simply just a grown-up. As for friends... well, she had friends. But very few of them were the same age as her. It was good to talk to someone like that for a change. And Jorge had a good sense of humor too.

>>“Well, let’s cross our fingers and hope that my choice in restaurants was not a bad one,”

"We'll find out soon enough" she smiled as she took his arm and walked with him towards the entrance "So far, it doesn't look so horrible, does it."

She was pretty sure it was just fine.

>> "We'll find out soon enough…So far, it doesn't look so horrible, does it."

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Jorge smirked as he walked beside her up to the entrance of the building.

As soon as they arrived to the door, Jorge opened it for her and followed her in soon after. The restaurant did not look too shabby. The place seemed to have an elegance to it, but one that was not over pretentious. The people there seemed to be of the same type of attire as both Jorge and Gemma were, dressy but not overly casual or formal either. It seemed that Jorge had managed to pick a place and appropriate attire for once. That immediately began to ease tension about what he wore and he smiled to Gemma as they both walked up to the host who stood behind a small podium.

“Hello,” said a cheerful blonde dressed in a black top and slacks. She was happy but thankfully not overly so. “Welcome to the Village. Name?”

“Cervantes, for two?

The woman smiled as she ran down her list and nodded once she found his name. She then proceeded to take a pen and scratch out his name.

“There you are! Please follow me,” she said as he walked past them and led them into the dining area.

As they followed, Jorge was quite surprised by the aesthetic that the joint attempted to keep up. Several small tables for between two and four guests were littered throughout the large room and decorated with a small vase that held two flowers and a candle which flickered next to it. These tables were situated around a small area of wooden floor that was obviously used for dancing and attached to that floor, was a small stage that pressed up against the far wall. Upon the stage stood a young brunette woman who played what looked like an old, beat up guitar, but sang in the most beautiful French voice. Around the room, the walls were covered with several pictures like depicted the French country life, all taken in black and white or painted, but still it was a tasteful look. It did not appear overly done or cheap.

Jorge shared a quick smile with Gemma as he walked to the table against one of the walls that their host led them to. He made his own way around the table and pulled out Gemma’s chair for her, before he took a seat across from her.

“Your server will be right with you, and I hope you both have a wonderful time,” she said as she handed them each a menu and then disappeared back to her post.

Jorge breathed a small sigh of relief before he turned to look at the world in which they had just stepped in. The ceiling had a couple of black iron chandeliers, each with four lights that let off dim light. It was obvious that they wanted to create a more romantic scene. The detective smirked as he turned back around to face Gemma in this new atmosphere.

“Well…I can tell it’s a French restaurant,” he said with a half-smile.

Well, the place was as far from horrible as it could get. Actually, it was one of the nices places she'd ever been to on a date. Gemma smiled as she looked around; the restaurant was not fancy enough to make her uncomfortable. That was a good thing.

"It's a very nice place" she said, just to let Jorge know what he could have already guessed from the smile, that she approved of his choice. "I don't get to go to restaurants very often. But I really like this one."

Gemma vas never taught how to be a proper lady, but with some wit and practice she could still pull it off. That came in handy when the waitress arrived with the menus - most of the meals had French names. Gemma smirked once the waitress left.

"Now I am really sorry I skipped all those French classes." she chuckled, turning the pages "This one looks like something one can make a game out of." she glanced up at him over the table "Unless you speak French, that is."

Maybe he did. He read classics, and all that; you can never know what lurks in a man's past. Skeletons in the closet, and maybe a French language exam. Who knows.

Okay, I am totally screwed… Jorge thought to himself.

He looked over the menu he had been handed and realized that the whole thing was in French. He had been to a place similar to this, but in Miami it had translations. It was obvious that he was caught here without a single clue as to what to do. Then, he glanced over and spied Gemma’s face. She was apparently just as lost as he was, but there was a humor behind it. He could not have been happier to see that because otherwise he really would have felt bad about taking her to a restaurant in which even he could not translate the menu.

>> "Unless you speak French, that is."

And yet, he did not. For all the various random skills and hobbies that Jorge had picked up over the years, sadly the French language was not one of those things ever got around to mastering. He would make a note to try and do what he could about that. But after she asked her question, he could only chuckle and shake his head.

“Well, I dunno. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, I can recognize a word or two…” he mumbled as he began to look closely over then menu. Then a sparkle appeared in his eye as he saw a couple of words he actually DID recognize! “Ah! Here are a couple!" He pointed the section out to her on the menu. “Lundi…” But as he looked closer at the menu he sighed. “Nevermind…um, that means Monday. It’s…just their operating hours.”

He tried to keep it in, but he could only laugh at what he had just said. The one thing he could translate in the French menu were the hours of operation! How perfect was that? Well, if they ever decided to come back here and needed to know when they were open, Jorge would be that knight in shining armor. With another heartfelt chuckle he shook his head once more as he looked up at Gemma.

“Sorry, looks like the both of us are stuck up this creek without a paddle,” he said as he looked around for a waiter.

There was no shame in asking for help when it was needed so when a waiter finally showed up, Jorge was a bit relieved that the man could translate the menu for them. He offered them several suggestions which included Chicken sautéed with mushrooms, grilled skirt steak, filet mignon, red snapper, seared bass and sea scallops, and even a couple of intriguing salads. Jorge thanked the man heartily as waiting for Gemma to make her order, then he said his and once more they were by themselves…in a French restaurant…with very dim lighting and French music wafting around them.

>>“Well, I dunno. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, I can recognize a word or two… Ah! Here are a couple!... Nevermind…um, that means Monday. It’s…just their operating hours.”

Jorge laughed, and Gemma started laughing too; well, it was funny. So they still didn't know what to order, but he managed to decypher the operating hours. That had to count for something. She laughed, and some people glanced up at them. They didn't look annoyed though. In the cozy little restaurant people were happy to hear laugher. Gemma smiled, and they turned back to their own conversations.

>>“Sorry, looks like the both of us are stuck up this creek without a paddle,”

"Yes, looks like it." she chuckled, looking at the menu "Maybe I'll just point at something."

Hopefully, something not too expensive.
The waiter came to the rescue. In translation, everything sounded very delicious; she was sure the meal they ended up ordering would be exqisite. And then they were left alone again.

"So, here is a question for you" Gemma smiled, resting her chin in her palm "Which one was first, the job or the powers?"

>> "So, here is a question for you…Which one was first, the job or the powers?"

Jorge sat back in his chair as he took a sip of complimentary water with a lemon wedge floating in it. Surprisingly this was the first time he was asked. Always before it had been some sort of confession or something that he kept to himself, mainly because the birth of his abilities had been so public. He could only thank his stars that his parents were caring enough to realize how easily something like this could ruin his life so they had spirited him away to Miami before things got too crazy with media and tabloids that all wanted a piece of him.

“For me…the powers,” Jorge said thoughtfully. “Happened when I was fifteen, in a very public setting…the beach.” This was followed by his hearty chuckle as he thought back to that day. How perfect for a water bending mutant.

He could still see the day. The panic, the anger that welled up inside of him. He could smell the water still, feel the soft droplets of the towering waves and feel the wet sand beneath his feet that must have never felt such human feet before. Then the sudden feeling that he knew he could move something so massive in order the save the life of someone he truly cared about. He still feels that pull today when he is using his abilities.

He smiled a bit absentmindedly before he turned his attention back to Gemma. “Yeah, someone I knew was in trouble and before I knew what I was doing…I had moved the very ocean for them.”

>>“For me…the powers. Happened when I was fifteen, in a very public setting…the beach. Yeah, someone I knew was in trouble and before I knew what I was doing…I had moved the very ocean for them.”

He paused in the middle of what he was saying, and she could see a strange look in his eyes. She had seen it before. He was remembering a very important moment in his life; a moment that only those could understand who experienced the change from simple human to something special. She had seen that look in the eyes of many grown-up mutants who survived the manifestation of their abilities and lived to tell the tale. She wondered if she had a similar look.

"Must have been quite a moment" she smiled, listening to him "I've always loved the ocean. Didn't get much of the beach though, not in Baltimore anyway." she added with a chuckle "I can imagine how a fifteen-year-old moving the water must have made the news..."

>> "I can imagine how a fifteen-year-old moving the water must have made the news..."

That was an understatement. Jorge had to smirk at her remark as he thought back to that day, long after his amazing feat at the beach. When he had awoken, he was surrounded by “Get Well” cards and many religious themed candles and strips of paper that offered prayers or bible quotes. He must admit that if he had merely been a passerby that day, he would have thought it was a miracle as well. But it’s different when you are the person in the center of all that attention.

“Yeah, apparently what I did shook up everyone who had been watching. You see, a good friend of mine when I was a teen, got pulled into a riptide. I was the only one who saw her go down,” He said as he swirled the water inside of his glass with a spoon. “I was freaked out, so that’s when my powers awoke. What I did was, well, have you ever seen the movie “Ten Commandments”?” Jorge asked as he lowered his voice just a little to not let a snippet flow past into any eavesdroppers. “I actually parted the water and found her on the wet sand below.”

He remembered it all too clearly. The way he thrust out his hands the second he felt his connection with the water. He did not know why but he knew he had to ability to move it. He felt it, as easily as one feels when they know they and move their arm, make a fist with their hand, or caress someone gently down their arm. The body of liquid was part of him now, he was a part of it.

“Anyway, after that incident, I haven’t been able to move that much water since. Heck, after that time, I dropped into a coma for about a month or so. Which was unfortunate,” the cloud of his memories lifted away and Jorge was back and smiled warmly at Gemma before he offered her a quick wink. “I missed the AC/DC show I had gotten tickets for two months prior.”

The lightness was back and Jorge could only chuckle along with Gemma as he finished his story. It was a story he did not tell just anyone. And though he had left some important details out, he did it for all the right reason. Not because he wanted to hide bits about himself but simply because it was no time. There would be a time and place for him to share everything, but it certainly was not going to be on the first date. Besides, they came out to get to know each other and have fun, and that was what he was going to do. He would enjoy himself, pray she was having fun, and gain add one more night to his list where he did not have to have a hard edge.

“So,” he said with a genuine interest, “what about you, Gemma? When did your ability develop?” It was her turn to share and he would listen in all ears.