This…was a kidnapping. Straight up, tried and true, kidnapping. The target had no idea what was going to happen and he could not have been happier with that scenario. After all…what good was a surprise if the person had any inkling about it? That wouldn’t be far and it wouldn’t be right. Besides, this is how it needed to play out. No warnings, no suspicious activity, those were the complete and utter failings of amateurs. And tonight…there was no room for amateurish behavior.

Creeping down the halls as silent as a shadow, the lone figure of a man dressed disarmingly in a nice nice pale blue shirt, black pants, and a leather jacket, walked onward. His fists clenched nervously as he tried to play out the possible events of tonight. She could resist his charm and kidnapping aspirations. And she was a strong fighter. If she didn’t want to go…she wouldn’t. Well…there was always the possibility of simply slinging her over his shoulder and running out with her kicking and screaming. But it that is what it took, then so be it. He had to get her out of here!

And nothing, not one person, friend, or enemy was going to stand in his way. He’d bowl them all over if he had to.

Step…Step…Step…Step…

His shoe clad feet crept soundless down the carpeted hall, eyes watched each door as he passed by. So far the coast was clear. No one was wandering around, none of the staff seemed to be in the halls and the students all appeared to either be studying or stuck in their rooms or maybe even out for the night. Whatever the case with no one around to stop him a sly grin of appreciation appeared on his lips. He would have hated to attempt this with other people around.

Step…Step…Step…

A rustle of something in his hand and Jorge glanced door to see the door to her office. It was unguarded! It did not even look like it was closed all the way! And, pressing closer, he found no talking was coming from the office either. Absolutely perfect…

No arguments, he thought to himself as he crept closer. This is happening…

When he arrived, Jorge Cervantes, with the nicely combed hair and a freshly shaven face, knocked on the office door of Gemma Taylor and slowly pushed it open while holding up a bouquet of flowers. He was kidnapping her tonight…no arguments…

Gemma was finishing up paperwork.
She hated paperwork.
Give her anti-mutant zealots or hysterical teenagers over schoool application forms any day. She was happy to deal with things that involved actual human contact.
But, she was the mother of the whole mansion, and moms were supposed to take care of things. Because, apparently, nobody else did.

Gemma finished her third cup of coffee with a sigh, and sat back to rest her eyes for a few moments. She only opened them when she heard the door creak.

"Can I help... oh."

It was Jorge. With flowers. Boyfriends with flowers were always most welcome. He was also clean shaven and all dressed up, and she suddenly felt exhausted and dusty.

"Hi" she smiled, standing to walk over to him. They haven't met much since the infamous day of the zealot visit; he was busy with the case, and she was busy with the kids and all their emotions. "Please tell me we are going out to a place where carrying paperwork is strictly forbidden...."

>> "Can I help... oh."

He beamed. Surprises were always the best.

“Someone secretly wish for a handsome kidnapper?”

Walking into her room and holding up the bouquet of roses of various colors, he looked as dapper a gentleman as he could. Jorge was never one to brag about his looks, but people had always told him that when he tried he could indeed look quite handsome. He figured that now would be the best time to test that theory, especially since it had been awhile since he had actually taken Gemma out on a date. Both have been too busy with their respective work to really find that much time for each other.

Thank god there were telephones.

He watched then, as she stood up, obviously surprised by his appearance and his clothing and the flowers. But at the same time she did look rather relieved. Judging from the amount of paperwork he saw on her desk, he was not surprised. If there was one thing he knew that she hated to do, it was paperwork.

>> "Hi…Please tell me we are going out to a place where carrying paperwork is strictly forbidden...."

He grinned as he handed off the flowers to her and leaned in give her a quick kiss. He could tell she was tired but she looked absolutely beautiful to him. It was just a shame it took so long for them to find time enough to actually go out.

A chuckle fell from his lips at her comment and he nodded.

“Trust me,” he laughed. “If it isn’t, I’ll arrest whoever attempts to give you any.”

>>“Someone secretly wish for a handsome kidnapper?”

"You have no idea" she chuckled, glancing back at the paperwork balanced on her desk. She would finish it tomorrow. Hopefully.

Jorge handed her the flowers; she buried her nose in them and smiled. It had been a very long time since he had brought her flowers. It was nice.
He deserved a kiss for that alone.

>>“Trust me. If it isn’t, I’ll arrest whoever attempts to give you any.”

"What are we waiting for?" she grinned, kissing him on the cheek this time "I need to go change. I'll meet you in the foyer. Give me two minutes."

Two minutes were enough to brush her hair, change into a decent dress that matched his shirt, freshen up, put the flowers in a vase, and walk down from her room to the foyer. That is how good Gemma taylor was at these things.
Smiling, she took his hand.

"So, where are we going?"

>> "What are we waiting for? I need to go change. I'll meet you in the foyer. Give me two minutes."

“You got it,” he grinned with a wink. Stepping away from her, he stopped at the door long enough to hold it open for her to exit. That look of relief on her face at being taken away from all this paperwork was absolutely priceless.

Once she had moved past him, Jorge flicked off the lights of her office, closed her door and made his way to the foyer while Gemma disappeared to go change. While walking, the detective stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and began to muse as he watched Gemma walk down the hall and then climb the stairs towards her room. He still could not believe how lucky he was to have someone like her in his life.

In the foyer, the detective smiled and waved to the students who recognized him while he waited for Gemma. He casually walked the lines on the carpet, looking almost like a big kid himself as he pretended the tightrope walk that line of golden thread that was stitched lengthwise across the material. He really was looking forward to tonight. Not simply because it was a night off for him, but because he really wanted to spend this evening with the one person whom he really loved and cared for in this city. The woman was meaning so much to him these days and it was simply horrible that he could not break away from work long enough to show her that.

The detective had been in too many relationships that had ended that way. Women whom either he neglected because of work, or could not handle his hours. Whatever the case, he was resolute to not allow that to happen in this relationship. It survived much longer than any of his previous and he was not going to lose her because of his job.

Hence…the reason he was kidnapping her.

Just as the detective was about to grab a book from one of the many nearby bookshelves and take a seat, suddenly there was the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He really could not help the large, beaming smiling that appeared on his lips as he watched Gemma Taylor come down, dressed to kill and looking, as if it were possible, even more lovely then when he had seen her in her office.

All that in only two minutes. He definitely was impressed.

>> "So, where are we going?"

He grinned as he took her hand in his, raised it up gently and kissed her knuckle. Always the perfect gentleman.

“Well first all, we’re going to put some food in you,” he chuckled. “With our work schedules, I doubt either of us has had a decent meal. But, the rest of the evening…well…you’ll just have to come with me to find out, now won’t you?” Jorge had to smirk at his own antics. It had been far too long since he was allowed to be goofball in front of her. It felt good again.

>>“Well first all, we’re going to put some food in you. With our work schedules, I doubt either of us has had a decent meal. But, the rest of the evening…well…you’ll just have to come with me to find out, now won’t you?”

"You had me at 'food'" she grinned, and blushed a bit at the kiss, because it felt good, and she was wearing a dress, and dresses call for blushing.
And she really was hungry.

Walking out to his car, she leaned against him, feeling better with every step they took away from the Mansion. She loved the place to bits, but just like in every good relationship, she needed some alone time every once in a while.

"Let's not talk about work tonight" she said "Just... tell me if everything's fine, okay? I think we both dserve some time away from our jobs."

>> "You had me at 'food'"

She blushed, even he blushed a little, and he gave her his arm as the stepped out into the cool night air. The mansion did have a majestic beauty about it at night. With the windows lit up with the interior lights and the flood lights situated around the garden and across the walkway, it just gave it an overall and mystical aura that could not be denied. It was like something out of one of his old novels, like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. The mansion just glowed with this halo of majesty that always seemed to enrapture the water-bending detective.

But right now, with the mansion at his back and walking straight forward to his car, the mansion’s beauty disappeared and he was enraptured with some entirely different vision. The gorgeous woman that walked next to him had a far more enchanting appearance than that mansion could ever hope for.

And that’s what made him the luckiest man in the world right now.

She leaned against him, he grinned as continued to lead them towards his car. This night had been a long time coming, especially with how crazy their workloads were getting. He really, really hoped that she did not want him to talk about work tonight…

>> "Let's not talk about work tonight…Just... tell me if everything's fine, okay? I think we both deserve some time away from our jobs."

God, he loved this woman.

A smirk crossed his lips as he nodded. “Everything’s fine.” he beamed as they arrived at his car and he opened the passenger door for her to climb in. “I take it that ‘everything is fine’ with you too?”

>>“Everything’s fine. I take it that ‘everything is fine’ with you too?”

"Perfect." Gemma smiled, and that was it. There had been no big deal in the Mansion since the attack by Agnes' parents, and Jorge knew all about that, because he was there. So.

Gemma got in his car; it smelled familiar, like him, and she was starting to relax. He agreed without words that there would be no talk of work tonight.
Then again, they talked a lot about work. It would definitely leave some gaps in the conversation...
Not that she minded some silence every once in a while.

"The kids called today" she told him with a smile, changing the subject "They said they might visit for a few days before school starts again."

She climbed into his car and Jorge was careful when he closed the door behind her. Once she was securely inside, he walked around towards his side of the car and climbed in as well. The detective had definitely gone the extra mile for this date. He was always a man who took very good care of his car, but for this he had everything polished and detailed just for the lovely lady he would be taking out tonight. To most it would seem as if the man were trying too hard to impress her, but the truth was that he did not believe that. He wanted everything to be up to his standards of taking the beautiful woman out. Everything that to be perfect.

He owed her that much considering how long it took this date to happen. And judging from the look on her face, the tiny smiles, the casual looks, it was working. She seemed pleased with things thus far and hopefully the evening would only continue to go well.

Thankfully there were not going to a place that was apple themed, it had no costumes, and last he checked, Mittens was still locked up. Three nasty experiences he really did not want to go through again.

Once in the car, the off duty detective climbed into his seat, attached his seat belt and revved up the engine. But before he pulled out into the driveway, he grabbed his cellphone from his coat pocket, showed it to Gemma and then proceeded to remove the battery and shoved them into two separate pockets.

“Not taking any chances tonight,” he chuckled.

And with that they were off…

>> "The kids called today…They said they might visit for a few days before school starts again."

“Aw that’ll be good. Seems like it’s been awhile since you’ve seen them,” Jorge said with a nod as he drove out into the dark, cool night. “I hope that they are all well. Maybe if they come this time Valerie won’t try so hard to destroy my psyche.” he said with a wink.

He met Gemma’s kids once. They were both great, the boy and the girl, but there was definitely a little bit of resistance on Valerie’s part. Whether that was simply just her way or if she really did not like her mother dating again, he didn’t know, but he liked to think that they all parted from each other on good terms that last time. Hopefully those good feelings will continue.

“Ironically, I just talked to Jayda a couple days ago. She says that mi madre is pressuring her to get me to fly down to Florida with you for a visit,” he said with grin. “She’s dying to meet you, especially after all the nice things that Jayda said about you when she visited.”

>>“Not taking any chances tonight,”

"A very wise decision" she agreed, turning her own cellhpone off. No one would find them tonight. If the sky fell on the mansion, Sam could deal with it for once.

>>“Aw that’ll be good. Seems like it’s been awhile since you’ve seen them. I hope that they are all well. Maybe if they come this time Valerie won’t try so hard to destroy my psyche.”

"She likes you" Gemma smirked "Otherwise your psyche would already be destroyed."

Valerie had her ways.

>>“Ironically, I just talked to Jayda a couple days ago. She says that mi madre is pressuring her to get me to fly down to Florida with you for a visit. She’s dying to meet you, especially after all the nice things that Jayda said about you when she visited.”

"I am flattered" she chuckled "And Florida sounds good. I have not been away from the Mansion since I arrived..."
Apart from the unmentioned apple incident.

"... if you want to take me, that is" she added with a small smile "These family things are always tricky, so I'll trust your decision on that."

>> "I am flattered…And Florida sounds good. I have not been away from the Mansion since I arrived..."

Jorge grinned at the thought. The idea of Gemma and he going down to Florida, together, it just…seemed like a great idea. The last trip they took where they actually got out of the city turned out so bad that part of him still felt a little guilty about it. Obviously it was not his idea to be attacked by mutant apples when they went to that Bed and Breakfast, but part of hi still felt a little weird about the way their weekend turned out.

Maybe this could be a good make-up for all that? Maybe a nice trip down to his hometown of Miami with a woman he truly cared about would be good for them. After all, Miami was a beautiful place with a life and an energy that was hard to not be infected by. Not that New York was not without its charms, but sometimes…it was just a good idea to head home.

But still…which was worse? Fighting off mutant apples or…meeting his mother?

>> "... if you want to take me, that is…These family things are always tricky, so I'll trust your decision on that."

He smiled.

“I…think it’ll be good.” he beamed in response as he drove through the city. “After all, I’ve met your family. And you’ve only met my sister. And trust me, she not a very good representation of them all…” he grinned as he joked and drove on. “So long as you can stand being alone with me...in a strange state...near my parents...”

There was some slight dread in his voice as he said that last part. It was not that Jorge did not want Gemma to come with him to meet his family. It was simply that he knew how...overbearing...his family could be. But...he also knew Gemma. And he doubted they would get the best of her. At least...that is what he prayed.

>>“I…think it’ll be good. After all, I’ve met your family. And you’ve only met my sister. And trust me, she not a very good representation of them all... So long as you can stand being alone with me...in a strange state...near my parents...”

"Well, I liked your sister" Gemma noted with a smirk "So no problem there."

That the others were different that did not mean they were necessarily bad. Not at all. Just from her own family, and the people she shared the mansion with, she knew that most people had something about them that one could like, and the opposite was also true.

"I'm completely fine with being alone with you" she smiled at Jorge, arching an eyebrow that might have been a suggestion "And I am surprisingly good with parents. School counselor, remember?" she chuckled. Of course it was not the same thing. She was just trying to get Jorge worry less.

"Are we there yet?"

>> "I'm completely fine with being alone with you…and I am surprisingly good with parents. School counselor, remember?"

“Hah, touche,” he replied with a grin. “Well I’m sure that we can put our heads together and take some time off. I can show you around where I grew up. Miami can be a beautiful city in its own right.”

Jorge grinned at the thought. He had every notion that Gemma could more than take care of herself when it came to his family. After all, she was right; she worked for a school that was filled to the brim with mutant teenagers. And yet she did seem to have quite the handle on that place. Though the detective did wonder which was worse…a full of hormone fueled mutant teenagers with destructive powers…or his mother? He had to admit that it was a little close to call, but Gemma was a strong woman. She would be fine.

Yeah…fine…

>> "Are we there yet?"

“Hm?” he mumbled a little mindlessly in response. It took a second for him to process what she had asked but when he did he nodded. A glance at the streets signs told him they were closing in. “Yup, we’re just about there.”

Jorge had been wracking his brain trying to figure out where exactly to take his neglected girlfriend. It was no use asking down at the precinct since more of the men and women had the idea that a good restaurant consisted of a sport’s or nude bar. That was not going to go well with Gemma. And searching the internet was not an option because…well…Zoogle only kept referring him to celebrity chef restaurants. Let’s be honest, the man is a cop, not a millionaire who will pay $100 for a steak the size of a piece of gum. But, with some trusty footwork, and a connection or two that was reliable, Jorge found someplace good…at least he hoped.

“Here we are,” he said as he turned into a driveway.

The restaurant he stopped in front of actually looked very elegant. It was a smaller place, served Greek food, and was not crowded, but not empty either, named “ Persephone”. Despite the name and its connections to Greek myth and the bad side of eating food, it was a place that Jorge had only heard good things about. The exterior was romantically decorated and the food was supposed to be the best. It looked like little more than a hole in the wall but there was a charm about it that had pulled Jorge in when he first came across it. It should be a perfect start for their evening together.

Pulling his car to a stop, Jorge flashed a smile a Gemma before he climbed out. Always the gentlemen, Jorge adjusted his coat as he walked around to her side and opened her door for her with a grin and bow.

“Young Miss,” he announced as he held her door open and offered his arm. “Care to join a handsome stranger for some exquisite dining?”

>>“Hah, touche. Well I’m sure that we can put our heads together and take some time off. I can show you around where I grew up. Miami can be a beautiful city in its own right.”

Gemma smiled. She had never been to Miami, but it sounded like a nice place. Especially because Jorge grew up there. One could learn a lot about a person by visiting their place of origin. In her experience, even the person itself tended to change, to behave differently (and usually more relaxed) in their real home.

>>“Here we are,”

The restaurant looked nice and cozy, and not crowded at all. Gemma wondered how he found these places. It was perfect for them; not crazy expensive or fancy, and less likely to be the focus of a mutant attack. She smiled as he helped her out of the car.

>>“Young Miss. Care to join a handsome stranger for some exquisite dining?”

"With pleasure" she nodded, smirking at his politeness "Although it might get awkward, if you decide to join us as well..."

The night was cool on Jorge’s skin as he stood with the car door open, smiling warmly down at Gemma Taylor. He watched her elegant form as it slinked out of his car and took his arm and all he could do was grin like a silly child. The woman just seemed to turn him into an old fool. He knew that her very presence cut off his sensation to the churning waters that ran throughout the city, but there was something more. It was as if the smile on her lips, the familiar twinkle in her eye, the rustle of her dark hair in the breeze, just turned off something in his brain.

Even after nearly a year of knowing her, Jorge still felt his knees turn to jelly. His breath still caught in his throat. And that smile simply refused to vacate his lips. This most definitely had to be what love is…

Arm looped through his, he grinned as she responded to his most clever invitation with a clever response of her own…

>> "With pleasure…Although it might get awkward, if you decide to join us as well..."

“Woooow,” he chuckled and nodded in response. She was definitely on fire tonight. “Well, don’t worry. If I see that the two of you are hitting it off, I’ll make sure to back off.” He winked a bit devilishly as he casually strolled to the restaurant with her attached to his arm.

While walking, could not help but think how good it felt to be strolling along with this woman whom he cared about so much. Part of him was actually angry with himself for not making the time to spend with her. After all, for awhile now both of their lives had been nothing but work, work, work, but that did not mean he needed to sacrifice any part of their relationship.

Gently he patted her hand as they made their way to the restaurant’s front doors.

“I know we’ve both been extremely busy lately,” he said as he lead her to the doors, smiled at the host on the other side of the glass door who opened it for the pair of them to enter. Jorge nodded to Gemma. “But I hope tonight will make up for some of that.”