Rebecca stepped off of the transitional bridge into the body of the airplane, and there was no turning back now: her next step on the ground and her next breath of fresh air would be taking place in Glasgow, Scotland.

The first plane Rebecca ever took in her life was the one that took her from Scotland to America, so this would be just her second commercial, non-X-related flight. With that in mind, Rebecca was surprisingly calm, possibly thanks to the presence of Agnes, who was stepping on the plane with her.

The girls found their seats and Rebecca stored her dufflebag in the overhead storage area. She allowed Agnes to take the window seat, totally content to sit on the aisle.

With both girls now sitting and waiting on the take-off, Rebecca placed her hand on Agnes's knee. "Sae how are ye feeling?"

Before Agnes realized it, finals were over and she was free for the summer. Agnes…was done with high school education and was getting ready for her college career. It was a scary trail of thought but Agnes knew that she had to think about it. She had to prepare herself because this was going to be a whole new ball game. To be honest she had never thought she would ever get to this point and the knowledge that she achieved it was terrifying to say the least. Agnes was finally ready to move on past what her parents did, past the childhood she was denied, and enter the next phase in her life.

But Agnes put aside such thoughts at the moment. For now, Agnes was going to be very busy with something else entirely…her trip to Scotland. It seemed like it was only yesterday that she had promised Rebecca that she was going to go with her to meet her parents and now the day was here. Agnes was completely nervous with anticipation.

She packed, she made arrangements with the Mansion that she would not be around for gardening duties, and before she knew it, they were off. Agnes was quiet as they travelled to the airport, and even quieter as they went through the terminal and sought out their gate. It was a heavy burden to bear, to know that she was just about to meet her girlfriend’s parents. Sadly, her experience with parents tended to be bad ones because the only example she had were her own.

She always heard good things about Rebecca’s parents, though; she only hoped that same hospitality and care could be transferred over to her. Honestly Agnes was not sure about that; after all, Agnes was Rebecca’s first…anything. She could only imagine what they would think of her.

Moving along their plane, her luggage already going through except for her one carry-on, Agnes sighed nervously as she climbed on. She was allowed the window seat, which the young runaway graciously accepted (she had never been on a plane before), and slid into it in silence.

A hand pressed onto her knee and she turned to smile at Rebecca. Her wings folded flat against her back, she sighed as she sat against the back of the chair, looking tired.

>> "Sae how are ye feeling?"[/color]

“Nervous,” she said with a shy smile. “I mean…I’ve never met…parents before…you know? At least not good ones,” she smiled warmly. “Um…you’re sure they’re not, like, gonna kill me for stealing away their only daughter?”

>> “Nervous. I mean…I’ve never met…parents before…you know? At least not good ones.”

As excited to see her parents as Rebecca was, she also had to sympathize with Agnes. The parents in Agnes's life, from her own to those of her former girlfriends, were a rough start, so obviously meeting Rebecca's mother and father was going to scare her. As a loving girlfriend, it was Rebecca's duty to alleviate Agnes's fears.

>> “Um…you’re sure they’re not, like, gonna kill me for stealing away their only daughter?”

Rebecca chuckled. "Oh, Ah'm sure they wornt 'kill' ye."

Admittedly, she could have used a tone that instilled a bit more confidence. Rebecca kissed Agnes on the cheek and rested her head on Agnes's shoulder. "Ah'm sure they'll love ye almost as much as Ah dae. Jist... relax."

A yawn escaped Rebecca. The excitement of her upcoming trip made it hard for her to sleep the night before. "Ah'm gorna try sleepin' on my favorite Agnes pillow once we take off. Ye better promise ye wornt spend the whole six hours worrying your pretty lil head." Rebecca would spend plenty of time in Scotland calming Agnes down, so she was looking forward to having some her-time on the flight. (Well, her-time resting alongside Agnes.)

>> "Oh, Ah'm sure they wornt 'kill' ye." [/color]

Oh so just a little maiming and torturing I guess, she thought. She wanted to say that out loud, as a joke, but at the same time she didn’t want to offend Rebecca. Her girlfriend only had the sweetest things to say about her parents and Agnes did not want her to think that she was going into this with a bad thought.

>> "Ah'm sure they'll love ye almost as much as Ah dae. Jist... relax."[/color]

Agnes did her best to remember to breathe. She just had to breathe and hope that everything would be okay. Rebecca’s parents sounded sweet and, even though she was Rebecca’s first love interest, she had hope that they would be understanding. Rebecca had told her about the conversation she had with her mom. It sounded like it was quite a shock to her mother but she seemed to understand. She hoped those same feelings were still relevant now that she was going to be there in the flesh and blood.

She sighed, though, as she tried to relax. There was no getting out of this so worrying about it was just going to be out of the question. Instead Agnes simply did her best to relax back against the plush seat of the airplane seat and welcomed the familiar gesture of Rebecca resting her head against her shoulder. It felt so tender and warm, exactly the sweet reminder that she needed.

>> "Ah'm gorna try sleepin' on my favorite Agnes pillow once we take off. Ye better promise ye wornt spend the whole six hours worrying your pretty lil head."[/color]

She smiled a little shyly as she learned over and pressed her lips against the top of the redhead’s scalp. Meekly she nodded but she knew that it was really no good. Eventually she was start thinking about it again, worrying about it and trying to think of some way in order to appear more pleasurable in her girlfriend’s parent’s eyes.

But, in the meantime, before that panic set in, she nodded and gently patted Rebecca’s leg with her hand.

“I’ll do my best to not over worry,” she said. Then nodded as she kissed her again. “I promise.”

It was going to be a long flight…

Agnes accepted Rebecca's terms and conditions, so it was on Agnes if she started overthinking again. Rebecca's new responsibility was to catch some sleep.

Rebecca's rest did not go completely uninterrupted; she woke up for ten minutes of dinner of chicken and mash, one bathroom trip, and one break because the stewardess offered her wine.

The last wake up came when the plane made its final descent. After groggily returning to reality, Rebecca stretched over Agnes to look out of their window at her home: the isles of the United Kingdom.

"Can ye believe it?! We're here!"

The plane made a safe landing without complications and after collecting their belongings from the overhead, the girls were entering Glasgow Airport and Scotland.

Awaiting their luggage at the carousel, Rebecca covered her mouth as she yawned. "Sorry Ah was oot like a light. Was yer flight good?" She smiled as her bag came by and she snagged it.

With Agnes's possessions being the last thing to wait for, Rebecca leaned over and gave Agnes a peck on the lips. "There. Our first kiss in Scotland."

"They call 'at "pda" in th' states, dornt they? a voice teased behind them.

Rebecca's eyes widened and she whipped around on her back foot to see her mom waiting with a sign that read "Strawberry" in red letters. "Ma!" The prodigal daughter ran over to her mom and jumped into her arms for a big hug.

Mackenzie stood only two inches taller than her daughter, but to the untrained eye, she could have been Rebecca's older sister. Even in her middle age, she aged gracefully, with emerald eyes that bore the same youth as the day she first held Rebecca.

Rebecca's excitement mellowed, and she knew what the next important thing to do was. She took quick strides back to Agnes and took her hand, pulling her back to Mackenzie. "Ma... meet Agnes." Rebecca kept the other girl's hand in hers proudly. "My girlfriend."

Agnes was a ball of nerves for the first half of the entire plane trip. All she could think about was what Rebecca’s parents were going to be like the second that they met. Agnes had never gotten to even speak to her girlfriend’s parents over the phone so she really had no idea what to expect. It was these thoughts that played over and over in her head and forced her to feel just a little bit of trepidation about what was to come. What if they didn’t like her at all? Would they somehow just kick Agnes off the country? Could she fly all the way home?

But, after awhile, it just became too much trouble to keep thinking about these possibilities. Instead she finally gave in, as Rebecca suggested, to calmness and rest. It was easy to do since the sweet redhead was constantly found snoring against her shoulder. A couple times the sight of her made Agnes chuckle silently to the point that she had to reach over and stroke her hair.

She really was adorable. She loved her very much…

In silence Agnes attempted to keep her mind off of what was to come for the rest of the trip. She ate dinner when it was offered, she chit-chatted with Rebecca the precious few moments that she was awake, but, in the end, she succumbed to sleep as well. It did wonders for her nerves, and the time, because before she knew it, Agnes yawned to peek out the window and, all she saw was green.

>> "Can ye believe it?! We're here!"[/color]

She smiled at Rebecca but said nothing. She was impressed with the sight but that fear began to curl up in the pit of her stomach again. They were here…that meant that before long…she would be meeting the parents. A shuttering sigh fell from her lips as she tried to keep up a cheerful smile.

The plane landed, the girls descended, and together they collected luggage. So far Agnes was already picking out differences here and there from New York, but they were so miniscule that she probably would have assumed she was still in that states. It was weird, she had never been this far away from home…

>> "Sorry Ah was oot like a light. Was yer flight good?”[/color]

Her lips turned into a small smile as she nodded. “It was fine. It was a good thing we slept through most of it.”

But just as her hands curled around her luggage, she was suddenly attacked by a pair of lips. She blushed but grinned as she turned to look in those mismatched colored eyes of her sweet girlfriend.

>> "There. Our first kiss in Scotland."

She chuckled. She opened her mouth to reply with some witty remark when she was interrupted by the sound of another person speaking. Normally she would not listen to other people’s commentary but this one was obviously directed squarely at the two of them. She turned…and paused…

That woman looked surprisingly like Rebecca. So shocked was she by this that at first she didn’t really comprehend who this person was. Until…

>> "They call 'at "pda" in th' states, dornt they?

>> "Ma!"[/color]

Agnes…wanted to hyperventilate. They were not even off the plane an hour before suddenly her family showed up! Of course, she knew that Rebecca’s mother was supposed to be meeting them here but, in that second, she had completed forgotten. Now that was moment was here though, Agnes found herself at a loss. Rebecca’s mom was pretty, maybe she should compliment her? Argh, what is a girl supposed to say to her significant other’s parents?! She sighed and tried to shoo away her nerves bye smiling a little brightly.

Strawberry? she thought for a moment. Rebecca was going to have to explain that one…

>> "Ma... meet Agnes…My girlfriend."[/color]

Her hand gripped tight, Agnes held on for the moment of truth. She was introduced. She watched the woman for a reaction before she realized that Rebecca’s mother was probably waiting for a greeting of her own. Agnes gulped, smiled as she tried to keep her crystal blue eyes strong in appearance.

“H-H-Hi…” she muttered as she held out her hand to shake. Unfortunately, before she could shake the woman’s hand, her fly wings suddenly fluttered fast and nervous. Agnes ‘eep!’ed and calmed her wings down, keeping them firm down her back. “I-I’m sorry…”

Way to go, genius…

Rebecca could feel the aura of anxiety coming off of Agnes, which was not ideal for a first impression. Hold it together, hun...

>> "“H-H-Hi…” eep! “I-I’m sorry…”

Mackenzie had already reached for Agnes's hand when the unexpected flutter of wings caused her to jump. The mother began to chuckle, placing a hand on Agnes's shoulder. "Thenk God Rebecca warned me abit those wings of yoors. Nice tae meet ye, Agnes."

Rebecca smiled, glad to see that her mom could handle a little mutant surprise with grace and class. "Whit she didne tell me was 'at yoo'd be aw skin an' bones!" Mackenzie's accent was thicker than the accent of her daughter, since Mackenzie never spent any time living out of Scotland. "Ah thooght they fed ye lassies in th' states."

Rebecca rolled her eyes at the comment, but she was so pleased with the initial meeting, she would let it slide. "Well, wi' you feeding her this week, Ah'm sure she'll live."

"Aye, th' haggis is cookin' noo! Rebecca's eyes widened in fear, which left her mother howling in laughter. "Joking! Steak an' tatties. We willnae scar 'er away."

"Good, coz Ah like her." Steak and potatoes was a lot less intimidating than a dish designed solely for the Scots who lived with it all their lives.

Mackenzie smiled, giving her daughter one more quick squeeze of a hug before clapping her hands together. "Alright, ur ye baith ready? Yer faither's waitin' eagerly at hamm." Mackenzie led the way back to the car so the three women could get back to Rebecca's father, who was waiting in anticipation of her daughter's first significant other.

Agnes was mortified. Not that she was embarrassed by her mutation or anything like that, but simply because people were not always prepared for it. People jump, are scared, some have even attacked her because she was different. Though they were just wings, and not at all deadly, some people simply don’t know how to handle seeing them flutter like that. She knew that Rebecca’s mother was supposed to be sweet and nice but she really just didn’t know how she was supposed to react to actually seeing someone with a physical mutation like her own.

Thankfully, though, the woman didn’t not jump. Well…at least not that much…

>> "Thenk God Rebecca warned me abit those wings of yoors. Nice tae meet ye, Agnes…Whit she didne tell me was 'at yoo'd be aw skin an' bones! Ah thooght they fed ye lassies in th' states."

“It’s nice to meet you too. Rebecca talks about you all the time,” she beamed.

Agnes blushed nervously but still nodded at that last comment. She had always known that she was rather skinny but it seemed that no matter what the young girl ate, it never really went to fat. Maybe it was because she was housing an entire swarm and they needed to feed too? Well, as disgusting a thought as that was, Agnes let it got as she turned her attentions back to the situation at hand. She was actually meeting her girlfriend’s parents! She needed to focus…

>> "Well, wi' you feeding her this week, Ah'm sure she'll live."

>> "Aye, th' haggis is cookin' noo! Joking! Steak an' tatties. We willnae scar 'er away."

>> "Good, coz Ah like her."[/color]

Agnes grinned a little. It was interesting listening to the battle of the accents going on here. Rebecca’s mother’s was so thick but Agnes could catch the words fairly simply, probably because she had been around the woman’s daughter so much. Rebecca definitely had an accent of her own but it was more clearly defined thanks to her living in the states and going to school in America. This, though, was going to be a complete cultural shift for the young runaway.

Here, she was going to be the person that talked funny. She shuddered at that thought. For someone who spent her entire life trying to just blend into the crowd, she was going to stand out like a sore thumb here.

But she blinked as the attention seemed to turn back the to the both of them.

>> "Alright, ur ye baith ready? Yer faither's waitin' eagerly at hamm."

Rebecca’s father. This was the part that she was beginning to dread. She heard that Rebecca’s father was nice but maybe a little gruff. Such a fact did not help that Agnes always had a hard time trust male figures. But, since this was her girlfriend’s father, she would have to control her nerves and have faith that he wouldn’t just turn her away the second she met him.

Bags in hand, she smiled and nodded firmly to the older woman.

“Mmhm, I mean, yes ma'am,” she responded a little meekly. God, she hated feeling this out of place…

>> “Mmhm, I mean, yes ma'am.”

Mackenzie and Rebecca could both feel Agnes trying her hardest, and both felt for the girl. The mother smiled and nodded to try calming the poor girl, and Rebecca rested her hand on the small of Agnes's back, rubbing lightly. "Ah'm ready, ma." Rebecca picked up her belongings and followed her mom to the car.

Once they were on the road, they had a few short minutes before they made it home. Rebecca caught up with her mom, asking a few quick questions about some friends she had before leaving Scotland. Rebecca was pleased to hear that the initial shock and lack of understanding displayed by her friends had faded, and some of the other girls checked up on Rebecca through her parents.

As Rebecca reflected on the good news that her friends had not completely forsaken her, Mackenzie focused her questions on the car's third occupant. "Sae Agnes, Rebecca tells me yoo're quite th' musician. Fiddle?" She looked into the rear-view mirror to see the girl's response. "She mayna hae tauld ye, but Ah was quite th' flautist in mah day."

The territory was still new for her, but Mackenzie liked the idea of sharing some form of common ground with Agnes. "Mebbe we'll play if ye brooght it," she suggested.

A short time passed before the three women pulled into the driveway. Mackenzie helped the girls unload their baggage and looked Agnes in the eyes. "Yoo'll be fine dear, nae worries." Now more than ever, Agnes probably needed some assurance.

When her mother was not looking, Rebecca gave Agnes a kiss on the cheek and whispered in her ear, "Remember, Ah love ye an' Ah'll make this worth it later."

Agnes could feel the sympathy exuded from the both. In all honesty she did feel just as tad bit pathetic; like a kitten that had been caught out in the rain and looked over by a pair of doting kids. They both obviously felt extremely bad for her being so nervous but at least the sympathy was honest and well meaning. Agnes graciously accepted it and prayed that she could get her nerves under control before she too much time had passed. After all, she didn’t want to spend her entire vacation here in Scotland this worried.

She would make the effort; she would relax. At least she had Rebecca by her side. She would have hated to have taken on an endeavor like this without her sweet Scot by her side.

Before long they piled into a car and were on their way to Rebecca’s home. The drive was actually quite pleasant! The attention the attention was off of her while Rebecca and her mother could catch up. Agnes remained silent and spoke up only when she was spoken to. Aside from that, Agnes said nothing and simply stared out the window, marveling at the world passing them by. It looked so different from New York, the only home that she had ever known. It actually made her heart hurt a little bit, knowing that she had never see something like this before.

She really should travel more.

But as she mused, she heard the sounds of conversation switching back to her and Agnes turned just in time to catch Mackenzie’s question…

>> "Sae Agnes, Rebecca tells me yoo're quite th' musician. Fiddle? She mayna hae tauld ye, but Ah was quite th' flautist in mah day…Mebbe we'll play if ye brooght it,"

Agnes smiled a bright smile. Thankfully she did bring her violin, just in case she needed something to break the ice between her and her girlfriend’s parents. Music always did have a way of soothing the masses.

“Oh, yes, I brought it,” she nodded. “That…sounds absolutely lovely. I would love to play alongside you.” Great…just one more thing to be nervous about.

She cast a smile at Rebecca; at least her mother was trying. Agnes was extremely thankful for that. It was the father that she was more worried about since she had really not heard too much about him. She hoped that the man would be okay with her dating his daughter. So far things were going well but she had yet to meet this man. She could only imagine how that meeting will go…

A glance out the window and she noticed that the car was turning into a driveway and slowly the trepidation was beginning to settle upon her chest again. Once the car pulled to a stop, Mackenzie turned and offered her a smile.

>> "Yoo'll be fine dear, nae worries."

Agnes…gulped.

>> “Remember, Ah love ye an' Ah'll make this worth it later."[/color]

God was she on her way to meet the executioner?! The reassurance, the kiss on her cheek, maybe Agnes should have had her last rites? She sighed, tried to steel herself up, and nodded. Deep down she struggled to hold onto her nerves as she slipped out of the car and made ready to collect her bags and face her worst challenge yet…meeting Rebecca’s father…

The womenfolk brought the baggage into the house just in time to see Garrison Grey entering the living room from the kitchen, followed by the wafting smell of steak.

Garrison was clearly middle-age, but he was still fit, with the body of an obvious former footballer. Not a particularly tall man, Rebecca's father still had a commanding presence. His weathered, stubbly face had a small scar on his cheek from a fistfight at a stadium he would proudly tell anyone he won.

The man's smile was warm, because he knew his daughter was back home. "Welcome home, love," he greeted in a gruff British accent

Rebecca put down her bag, her eyes sparkling. "Daddy!" The girl ran into her dad's arms for a tight hug that made her feel safe as though she were seven again.

Garrison released his daughter and rested his hand at her cheek. She smiled, glad to be with her parents again. She saw Agnes standing with her mom, and started, "Um, Da, Ah'd like ye tae mee--"

"So, this is Agnes, right?" Rebecca did not get a chance to finish before Garrison was already walking over to her girlfriend. The older gentleman stopped short of her and stared into her young blue eyes with his old, deep blue eyes. There was a silence in the room.

Garrison smiled and placed a hand on Agnes's shoulder, taking her hand in the other and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Agnes. I'm Garrison. Make yourself at home." The man took the handle of Agnes's suitcase, taking it up the stairs, calling down, "Hope you're hungry!"

Mackenzie grinned, leaving a bag on the ground. "Ah'm gorna make sure yer faither got th' tatties right." The mother entered the kitchen, leaving the young girls alone in the living room.

Rebecca walked over to Agnes and gave her a tight squeeze. "That wasnae tae bad, right?" In truth, for the first impression, Rebecca expected far worse, even if she never told that to Agnes.

Agnes felt herself choking up. She was suddenly beginning to have second thoughts about going through with this whole thing but she knew that she couldn’t back down now. After all, it was not like she could just hop the next bus and head home. She was in a completely different continent and in a world that she just didn’t know. Besides, she was not really here for herself, she was here strictly for Rebecca. He loved the redhead far too much to just abandon her now.

She collected her bags from the nice, motherly figure, and smiled as best she could as the way was led. The house that she was led into was, in fact, very pretty. It was down to earth but not minimalistic like her own house was as she grew up. It had all the touches that reminded her of what home was supposed to feel like.

It was warm. That was the best way that she could describe it. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, it was as if she walked into a world of comfort, family, and joy, all the things that her own home lacked. She was truly enamored by the place as soon as he walked in. Crystal blue eyes were opened wide and looked out over the home, eyeing every stick of furniture, every picture, every trinket, and spurred questions as to what any of their stories must be.

She stopped though when an imposing looking man stepped into the scene. Rebecca cried out “Daddy” and hugged him. Agnes instantly felt the noose tighten around her neck. She really had no idea what she was expecting, but he was still terrifying. He was her girlfriend’s father! That meant she had a lot of impressing to do…

>> "So, this is Agnes, right?”

Agnes gulped the second that the man’s eyes fell upon her. She paused and looked up, as if trying to gauge exactly what he was going to do; would he be nice? Would he attack her? Maybe just a quick fist across her jaw? Maybe just some snippy remarks about her person? Agnes would not have been surprised by any of it.

But she was surprised when he suddenly took her hand into his and shook it heartily. It was such a swift motion that Agnes squeaked a little.

>> “Nice to meet you, Agnes. I'm Garrison. Make yourself at home… Hope you're hungry!"

“N-Nice…to meet you too, Mr. Grey,” she barely managed to get out. Before she knew it, the man was stalking up stairs with her luggage as a hostage. God she hoped she would see her clothes again…

>> "Ah'm gorna make sure yer faither got th' tatties right.”

Agnes waved but didn’t say much other than the gesture. As soon as Mrs. Grey was gone, Agnes turned to see Rebecca walk up to her and hug her tight. She sighed a little contentedly, but smiled none the less as she hugged her back.

>> "That wasnae tae bad, right?"[/color]

Agnes sighed and shook her head.

“No…just…I guess…confusing?” she replied. “I dunno what I was expecting but they both seem lovely.” she smiled, but deep down she prayed that she was correct in her assumptions of them thus far. She really did not know if how those two presented themselves was accurate, but she hoped it was. She had had her fill of mean spirited parents. She sighed and turned her attention back to Rebecca. “Ugh, s-so what do we do now?”

>> “No…just…I guess…confusing?” she replied. “I dunno what I was expecting but they both seem lovely.”

Rebecca had an idea of what her girlfriend was probably expecting, given her own parental history. Agnes was expecting to be shunned or looked down upon because she was a lesbian or a mutant or perhaps just the girl who was stealing the only daughter of the Grey house. There was no telling what would happen if Rebecca ever came face to face with Agnes's parents, especially after meeting their white knight, Malachi.

"My parents know ye treat me well... Ah talk about ye a lot." Agnes was amazing on her own merits, but Rebecca knew it would be courteous to talk the girl up, so her parents already had a good foundation to build her up from.

>> “Ugh, s-so what do we do now?”

It was a fair question; she was back in her own home, but had no idea what to do first. She truly understood what it meant to feel like "a guest in your own home." The place still felt like home, but it was as though she was rusty at living there. "Um, Ah would usually help ma with dinner, bit it's probably done." She also did not wish to leave Agnes unattended, since the American girl felt lost enough without having her only lifeline leave her alone. "Ah coulds show ye tae th' guest room, bit dad's setting it up."

What did they do next? There was not enough time to take a walk to the pond or into town. Maybe they were better off just sitting down in the living room until dinner arrived? That would be a rather boring introduction to Scotland for Agnes unless something better came up.

Meow?

The sound rattled in Rebecca's head before finally sinking in, leaving her grinning. She turned to spot her cat, Domino, peeking out from behind a couch. The cat was mostly grey, with several black spots, most notably around his left eye. Domino was no longer a kitten, but he still had plenty of youth left in him.

Rebecca picked the cat up rubbed her nose against Domino's, prompting the cat to lick her. "There's my lil' boy! Ave ma and pa been feeding ye proper?"

Rebecca took a seat on the couch, plopping Domino on her lap. "Agnes, this is my favorite boy, Domino." She patted the spot next to her on the couch, inviting Agnes to sit next to her (and nonverbally assuring her that her parents would not be bothered by them sitting together.) "Why dornt ye come introduce yerself? I mean, unless you're not a fan of cats or something." It dawned on Rebecca that she forgot to mention her cat to Agnes before, and indeed, never even discussed the idea of cats before. Putting Agnes on the spot, she could only hope her girlfriend did not hate cats, or worse, was allergic to them.

>> "Um, Ah would usually help ma with dinner, bit it's probably done…Ah coulds show ye tae th' guest room, bit dad's setting it up."[/color]

Agnes nodded meekly as she looked to the left and right. She wished that she could help Rebecca with this decision, but, unfortunately, there was little input that Agnes could give her. This was a new place to her so she really was not up deciding what was to be done. Sadly, she needed to depend on Rebecca to be her guide here and that meant that most of the decisions would have to be hers. So, Agnes merely stepped back as she continued to let her eyes roam over the house.

It really was quite homey, the type of home that she always dreamed of when she was living in the streets, even when her parents started to really show their true colors. It was comforting and sweet and…just wonderful.

But just as she turned to spy another set of pictures, she was shaken from her musings by a sudden sound.

>> Meow?

She blinked as she turned and spied a small, gray cat with black spots. She smiled as she waved to the little creature but it was soon scooped up in the freckled hands of her sweet, redheaded girlfriend.

>> "There's my lil' boy! Ave ma and pa been feeding ye proper?"[/color]

A grin crossed Agnes’ lips as she watched Rebecca fawn over the cat. It really was a sweet sight to behold. Rebecca had neglected to mention that she had a pet back at home but Agnes forgave her for that slip up as she watched the scene unfold. It was so sweet and tender that the young runaway did not want to ruin the moment for anything in the world.

Silently she watched as Rebecca claimed a seat on the couch and patted the spot next to her…

>> "Agnes, this is my favorite boy, Domino…Why dornt ye come introduce yerself? I mean, unless you're not a fan of cats or something."[/color]

“Oh, no, no,” she beamed as she walked over and carefully slid onto the spot next to her. “I love cats.” she shrugged as she reached over, cautiously, and pet Domino behind the ears. “When, you know…homeless…there were this group of cats that seemed to trust me. I shared my food with them and they warned me when people were coming too close. It was actually pretty symbiotic.” Gently she continued to scritch behind the cat’s ears with a smile. “It’s lovely to meet you, Domino. I’m Agnes.”

>> “Oh, no, no. I love cats. When, you know…homeless…there were this group of cats that seemed to trust me. I shared my food with them and they warned me when people were coming too close. It was actually pretty symbiotic.”

It was a rare moment for Agnes to share a story about her time on the streets. Her homeless life was not an easy time and it was probably something Agnes liked to keep out of her mind, so when she spoke openly about it, Rebecca listened. "Ah never realized how good you are wi' animals. Well, 'sides your buggies," she added as Domino purred at the new girl's attention.

The girls bathed Domino in affection as Garrison returned down the stairs and sat on a couch across from them. He took a bottle of scotch from the side-table and began pouring a glass. Rebecca noticed, but it was nothing she was not used to. She smiled and rolled her eyes, petting the top of Domino's head.

From the other room, Mackenzie called out, "Rebecca, could ye help me set up th' table?"

As a good, compliant daughter, Rebecca carefully transferred Domino from her lap to Agnes's and replied, "Ah'll be right there!" She kissed Agnes's cheek, disregarding her father's presence. "Ah'll be right back, hun." She left the room with quick steps, hoping it would lessen her time away from Agnes.

Before Agnes could consider offering to help as well, Garrison spoke, his lips just above his glass of scotch. "As our guest, I want you to relax and enjoy Scotland."

After a sip, Garrison found another glass. "Do you drink, Agnes?" Regardless, Garrison was already pouring a glass, not looking at the girl. "After all, you are plenty old enough here."

The older gentleman took the now full glass of scotch and offered it to Agnes, looking her in the eyes for the first time since he sat down. "Here. My treat."