>> "All right, Chase, how about this. We go find you a room and a bed, and you take a nap, okay? You need to rest after all this. And then when you feel better we can talk about the rest."

"Naps are for babies," Chase complained, trying to contain his shivering. A typical eight-year-old's retort. But, he had to admit, he was a little tired. He rubbed his head drowsily, but stubbornly shook his head in protest. And, like a typical adult, Miss Gemma picked up on it.

>> "If you want another sandwich, you can take it up to your room."

Chase gave a soft huff, before acquiescing, "Okay... a short nap, and a sandwich, and then talk some more..." Chase listed, hopping off of his stool. Oops, he'd forgotten the sandwich. Chase didn't bother trying to take on the stool once again. He stood on his tiptoes, snagging the bread-bag with his hand, and pulled it closer, so that he could reach a couple of slices.

Then, Chase's mind hit a brick wall-- he didn't know what else he wanted to do beyond the two slices of bread. He paused, holding the two pieces absently. He needed to clean up some, too-- he couldn't leave his mess all over the counter.

"Can I help clean up?"

>>"Naps are for babies... Okay... a short nap, and a sandwich, and then talk some more..."

Gemma smirked.

"Babies and grown-ups. I know I could use a nap sometimes..."

That is, most of the time. While dealing with children, Gemma really learned to value any sleep she coul get...

>>"Can I help clean up?"

"That's fine I'll clean it up. You just make your sandwich." she smiled, waving a hand "But thank you."

Once the sandwich was ready and on a plate, she walked with Chase upstairs to the boys' bedrooms. She knew the ones that were occupied, and found one that was not. After some rummaging, she even found bedsheets and blankets.

"There you go." she smiled at Chase "All yours. Sleep as much as you want, and come find me when you wake up. Bathroom's there, and my room is just down the hall on the other side, my name is on the door. Do you need anything else?"

>> "That's fine I'll clean it up. You just make your sandwich. But thank you."

Chase nodded, and went about quietly making another peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich. He figured that, if he ended up falling into a solid sleep, it wouldn't go rancid as a dairy product might. Also, he knew how to make PBJ really well, so it didn't require much thought. Chase finished, and set the sandwich back on the plate.

He trailed upstairs behind Miss Gemma, not so tired that he didn't look around. His eyes roved up and down the halls inquiringly, seeking out the faces of people closer to his age, but darting away if anyone looked back at him. Adults and big kids, he could handle-- kids his own age, not so much. Gemma led him to an open bedroom, helped him to situate a bed. Chase dropped his backpack on the floor, up against the wall, and watched in muted exhaustion.

When was the last time I slept in a bed?

>> "There you go... all yours. Sleep as much as you want, and come find me when you wake up. Bathroom's there, and my room is just down the hall on the other side, my name is on the door. Do you need anything else?"

Chase set his plate on the bedside table, and looked around. He looked towards the bathroom, then towards the door, and then back at the bed. Everything seemed to be in order.

"I think I'm good, Miss Gemma," Chase replied with a quiet smile, "Thank you."

>>"I think I'm good, Miss Gemma. Thank you."

"You are welcome." she smiled at him "Welcome to the Mansion."

Pulling the door closed behind her, she returned to the kitchen. Cleaning up did not take much time; she hummed to herself as she did. Once everything was in order, she went back upstairs to her room. Maybe she could catch a nap too. And then she had to figure out what to do with the runaway shifter boy. That is, if he was still there when she woke up...

Once the door was shut, Chase simply laid down. The beld felt completely alien to him—it was so soft, and secure, and warm. Was it wrong to feel unnerved by that. As an afterthought, Chase realized that most took their shoes off before laying down to sleep in a bed, so he sat back up, and removed his shoes, before laying back down once again. He burrowed under the blankets, hood still drawn about his head, and promptly crashed, much in the fashion of an exhausted child.

Chase might have been more exhausted than he’d originally expected, too. It had been a long time since he’d truly slept, and thus when provided with a bed to sleep in, he slept solidly—for a good two- to two-and-a-half hours—before waking up.

==//==

He awoke groggily, uncertain of where he was, but also uncaring. He knew he was safe. Chase rolled over, looking towards the door. He saw his sandwich, and his discarded bag and shoes.

Oh, Xavier’s. He smiled, skirting at the edge of wakefulness and sleep. Chase had missed beds, and wasn't in any hurry to leave the one that he was stretched out on. The bed was bigger than his old bed, too, which made him like it all the more. Finally, after dozing for an extra ten or fifteen minutes, Chase finally roused himself from the bed, and retrieved the sandwich off of the plate, munching on his sandwich as he ventured about the room. He investigated the bathroom, and the simple furniture, inquiringly.

Chase then padded to the window. The sun was setting. He shuffled over to his shoes and slid back into them, and slid back into his backpack. Was he supposed to leave his stuff in the room, or take it with him? Chase left the room and shuffled groggily down the hall, sandwich in-hand. He woke up slowly, when otherwise uninspired to wake up quickly. He made his way to Miss Gemma's room, and knocked faintly on the door. He was awake now.

Gemma did manage to get an afternoon nap. She woke up fresh and a bit dizzy; it took her a few moments to remember the boy she'd just brought in. She was leafing through some paperwork when she heard the knock on the door. She knew who it was, or at least she hoped; she really did not want to find out Chase had ran away. She didn't believe he would, but it did happen from time to time with kids like him. The kind that needed her help.

Chase stood in the door; Gemma smiled.

"Hi" she greeted him "Did you sleep well?"

She did notice the backpack. She wondered what it meant...

>> "Hi. Did you sleep well?"

Chase trailed into the room hesitantly, bobbing his head..

"Yeah... I didn't think I'd sleep that long," he confessed. After all, Gemma had woken him from a nap. Chase couldn't recall the last time he'd slept so heavily. Chase removed his backpack and deposited it onto the floor.

As he shuffled closer to Gemma, he nibbled at the sandwich that he'd saved from earlier.

>>"Yeah... I didn't think I'd sleep that long,"

Gemma smiled.

"Sleep is important" she nodded "It's good for you."

That was something kids tended to forget, and adults thought about constantly.

"So." she said, offering him a chair to sit down, and sitting down herself. "Do you want to talk about staying here for a while?"

She couldn't see why Chase would want to leave; she also knew she could have just kept him there, called Jorge, or something. But for now, she decided on a more peaceful solution. Talk.

>> "So... do you want to talk about staying here for a while?"

Chase clambered into the chair that was offered, discarding his backpack beside it as Gemma spoke. Did he want to stay there? Chase toyed with his hands. He'd have food here, and a bed, which were commodities that he hadn't had in quite a while. He could be among other mutant children, too, and accepted, which seemed unfathomable and wonderful all at once. And, if those weren't reasons enough, he rather liked Miss Gemma, too.

"Yes, please," Chase murmured, smiling.

>>"Yes, please,"

"Okay" Gemma smiled and nodded "Here is what we are going to do. You will get a room, and some clean clothes. You already know where the food is. I will talk to the teachers, and sign you up for classes - as long as you are here you will need to go to school, okay? But not right now, we will talk about it later."

She watched him eat his sandwich. He was so young. And already alone. She did not want to scare him off; but she had to ask anyway.

"Chase. If you want to stay here, you will need to tell me where you came from, okay? I need to know so I can make sure you stay here, and nobody shows up to take you away. I think this is a good place for you, as long as you would like to stay, but I need to know more about you."

>> "Okay, here is what we are going to do. You will get a room, and some clean clothes. You already know where the food is. I will talk to the teachers, and sign you up for classes - as long as you are here you will need to go to school, okay? But not right now, we will talk about it later."

Chase listened attentively, quietly consuming his sandwich. Everything sounded all well and good... a room, new clothes, food, school... It sounded so nice, so splendidly normal. Chase nodded his head, and agreed, "Okay."

But there was something in Gemma's tone that implied that there was something else to be said.

>> "Chase. If you want to stay here, you will need to tell me where you came from, okay? I need to know so I can make sure you stay here, and nobody shows up to take you away. I think this is a good place for you, as long as you would like to stay, but I need to know more about you."

Chase's gaze began to get overwhelmed by a fearful, glassy black, so that his entire eye seemed a single stretch of black. His greatest fear was being found and sent back. He trusted Gemma yet didn't. In his childlike understanding of the situation, if he told anyone anything, they would send him back to his former life.

"S-Syracuse," was all that Chase replied, averting his gaze. Were they still looking for him? Was anyone? If they were, Chase was certain that they would take him back, if they found him. He fussed anxiously with his hair, tucking his knees to his chest. He liked it here. He wanted to stay here, where it was safe.

But that meant that he had to tell Miss Gemma where he'd come from.

"I-if the CPS finds out I'm here, they're going to take me back to those homes... I don't want to go back."

Chase set his half-eaten sandwich on the table, on a tissue. He wasn't hungry anymore. He looked scared, and maybe on the verge of tears.

"I like it here, Miss Gemma," Chase shifted his gaze towards Gemma's face searchingly, "Please, don't make me go back. I'll do anything."

>>"S-Syracuse. I-if the CPS finds out I'm here, they're going to take me back to those homes... I don't want to go back. I like it here, Miss Gemma. Please, don't make me go back. I'll do anything."

Homes. That made sense. Gemma sighed as she listened; now Chase just looked scared, and very young.

"It's okay." she nodded, shifting closer so she could put an arm around his shoulders "It's okay, you are right where you need to be. I'll take care of that, all right? Just tell me the whole story, and I'll make sure you can stay."

She sounded confident. Whoever else would like to take care of a mutant child in the system? If he stayed in the Mansion, he was not their problem anymore. They could even save their money that way. Win win. Gemma was good at convincing people of that.

"So, you are in the foster system? You have no family?..."

>> "It's okay... It's okay, you are right where you need to be. I'll take care of that, all right? Just tell me the whole story, and I'll make sure you can stay."

Chase didn't wince or pull away when Gemma half-hugged him. He knew he wouldn't shift if she touched him, or even if he did, he knew she wouldn't freak out. He nodded lamely, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeves. He wasn't going to cry over it, they weren't going to get him-- but he was still frightened that they would. He remained nestled in Gemma's arm.

>> "So, you are in the foster system? You have no family?..."

"Everyone has a family," Chase mumbled still hiding behind his sleeve. He sighed shakily, "M-my Mom and Dad, they..." He looked for the right words. For adult words. Again, he was only eight, so it was hard for him to wrap his head around or put into words, "Didn't treat me right, because I was 'different'... the CPS called it abuse and... there was another one... neglect, I think?" Chase rolled his lips, the words feeling awakward on his tongue. His parents had done awful things to him but Chase had, in some warped way, thought that he deserved it up until the CPS stepped in, "They were bad. And so, I got taken away, and put into my first home."

He continued to fuss with his sleeve, "I was moved between too many homes to keep track of, because they couldn't decide what to do with me... so they just kept moving me again, and again..." Chase focused on his jeans, picking at the worn knee, "I didn't like it there, and nobody--" Nobody wanted him, Chase nearly said, "--Nobody knew what to do with me."

He looked towards his backpack, then up at Gemma. She wasn't going to let them take him back, this was a safe place. But, his eyes were still the same, solid black, betraying his fear. Chase averted his gaze.

"So I left."

>>"Everyone has a family. M-my Mom and Dad, they... Didn't treat me right, because I was 'different'... the CPS called it abuse and... there was another one... neglect, I think? They were bad. And so, I got taken away, and put into my first home."

Gemma listened quietly, still holding him. Those were big words for an eight-year-old. Also, they explained a lot of things. The trust issues and the way he thought about his own mutation. Gemma frowned. She hoped those parents would not turn out like Agnes family; but if they did, she was prepared. How could people not see that genes had to come from somewhere?...

>>"I was moved between too many homes to keep track of, because they couldn't decide what to do with me... so they just kept moving me again, and again... I didn't like it there, and nobody-- Nobody knew what to do with me. So I left."

She nodded again.

"I see." that was, suprisingly enough, a common story with the children she'd worked with. And, badly enough, it could have been worse.

"It's okay, Chase. We can work with this. You are already in the system, and everyone wants you to get out of it, and this school is just the place for that. I'll just need to contact them, and do some paperwork, and then you can officially stay here any no one will take you away."

A load of paperwork, probably. But it was worth it.

>> "I see... It's okay, Chase. We can work with this. You are already in the system, and everyone wants you to get out of it, and this school is just the place for that. I'll just need to contact them, and do some paperwork, and then you can officially stay here and no one will take you away."

Chase nodded slowly, still keeping a hand to his head. It was alot for an eight-year-old to handle, but it sounded like Gemma was going to make it work. She was going to make sure he wasn't uprooted once more, she was going to make it so that Chase could stay.

"Okay," Chase agreed. And, for perhaps the thousandth time today, he murmured, "Thank you, Miss Gemma."

This time, he added in a hug. Though, from his odd angle (he was still sitting) and diminutive size, it wasn't a very good one.