The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Jacen was just a big chagrinned when Kealey began to ask questions about some of the slang he had used without even thinking about. "Duh Jacen! She's from Ireland and she doesn't get out much. Stick to 'normal' words!"
"Uh, yeah. Basically when it comes to sports, being schooled means you're being taught a lesson by your opponents. Normally it means a large different in score showing just how much better one team is than the other. And a brick, well, uh, a brick is just a really bad shot. It normally hits the rim and just kind of clunks off." Jacen explained as he did his best to recover gracefully, "Sorry about that. I actually don't use slang to often but after playing ball for a few hours it starts to crop up occasionally."
Falling politely silent, Jacen listened to Kealey talk about her having missed Mass during the week and having felt the need to attend even though it was really a bad idea. He should have known that someone who had grown up in a convent would have a deep desire to go to church. That was deffinately an area where the two of them could not relate. With a nod and quick smile to the waitress, Jacen took his soda and then sipped at it as his fellow diner continued her story. He didn't drink sodas all that often but since this particular restaurant was known for its burgers and everyone knew that it was almost a sin to have a burger without a soda, Jacen had given in to temptation. Besides, he'd been good and had drunk between two to three bottles of water over the course of the morning. One not long after getting up, 0.25 to 0.5 a bottle during the games, and the other 1.5 to 1.75 after cooling off from the game.
It was hard to hide the smirk that tried to appear on his face as Kealey talked about the mentality of most of her fellow church goers. That right there was one of the primary reasons that he had always steared clear of religion, even during his military days. At least 80 to 90 percent of the "Christians" he had met were hypocrites and he had no reason to join them. Sure there were some real people out there and they might even know what they were talking about when they mentioned a loving God and so forth but... well... that was a conversation for another day.
"As cute as you look playing with that pony tail I'm not surprised that the men was watching you." Jacen said with a slight smile, both flirting and teasing the blond woman at the same time as trying to get her to ignore the two men that obviously needed a lesson in manners, "Anyhow, don't begin think you're using me or anything. So far I've enjoyed your company so I figure it's a win win situation. You get to enjoy silence for a little while and I get to enjoy the company of an attractive young lady."
"Are you two ready to order?" The waitress asked as she wandered back over to their booth. In her right hand she held a pencil that hovered over the order pad in her left hand. Even though her lips were smiling there was a glint in her eye that almost dared to two of them to waste her time by saying they were 'still looking'.
"Yeah, I think so." Jacen replied as he turned his attention over to the waitress while not bothering to look at his menu, "I'll take a Bistro Burger cooked medium with an extra large side of fries."
***
"So do you have any particular plans for today?" Jacen asked after the waitress had moved off to give their orders to the cook, "I've got the rest of my afternoon free if you want to hang out and enjoy the silence for a while."
The question had been asked but a much more important question was now running through Jacen's mind. Did that count as asking Kealey out on a date? Obviously she was the one that had requested their getting together for lunch so did it change things if he asked her to extend their time together? He didn't think that it really counted as a date, at least not in the circles that he frequented, but for a girl brought up in a convent there was really no telling.
With a slight clatter the small container of shampoo dropped to the floor of the tub as their lips met. Even though Jacen knew it wasn't really happening, he felt like an electric charge was passing between them every time they kissed. Here was an outlet where Jacen could release all of his pent of emotion, his own 'electric charge' as it were. There was no thinking, just responding as he wrapped his arms around Lily waist, pulling her close so that their bodies molded to one another. Turning slightly he pushed her firmly back against the wall, making it quite clear that he was the one in control. He couldn't make her want anything more than a 'friends with benefits' relationship but he could make sure that she would miss him whenever their little get togethers wrapped up for the final time.
Deepening the kiss Jacen pushed, taking her in further as his hands slowly moved over her water slicked skin. Focusing on every sensitive spot and ticklish spot that he could remember from their previous encounters he did his best to drive her wild. Sure a part of him wanted to throw her on the bed and focus purely on his needs but another part wanted to make her regret not wanting more. This was the outlet where he could get rid of all of his frustration and pent of emotion without her realizing just how close she had actually gotten to making him want more than just... this.
He liked her... damn the woman but he liked her! He could care less about whether she was a thief. In fact, as long as she wasn't a murder he could probably come up with some excuse for her but she didn't want that. All she wanted was showers and cheep thrills.
***
Steam masked the bodies within the shower as it continued to completely fill the bathroom. Spreading out into the bedroom it even began to mist over the bags that held the clothes Lily would wear when she finally made her departure. Next door, Jacen's elderly neighbors temporarily turned off their hearing aids to get some relief from the sounds of a frenzied man and woman doing things that they hadn't dreamed off for some time. That was the problem with young couples... sometimes they were worse than bunny rabbits!
Even through the smile, Jacen could tell that Kealey was still shaken from whatever it was that she had experienced that morning. Not being a church goer himself, it never even occurred to him that she might have run into all kinds of emotion at Sunday morning worship. Instead his mind raced over anything that could have happened to her. Muggings, robberies, accidents, and other emotional situations that could throw a young woman like this in to a panic. In a city like this she might have even felt someone's emotion as they were being assaulted outside her building or something as equally tragic.
"I'm glad you called though I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Jacen replied just a touch apologetically as he shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the booth beside him. A part of his brain wanted to immediately ask Kealey what had happened and see if it was something he could help with but another part of him thought it might be good to change the subject.
"Maybe start with my morning." Jacen finally decided. "So far it's been a pretty good morning for me. A few blocks down from my apartment there's a inner city basketball court that I've played at a few times before so me and a few of my fellow officers headed over there today. The kids down there are pretty good and we can normally have some pretty good games. I guess we were a touch off this time though because they really schooled us and I know they must have pretty good about that. I made a few good shots but I had my share of bricks too."
Right then a waitress walked over to take their drink order. "I'll take a coke or Pepsi, thanks." Jacen ordered with a smile before turning his gaze back to Kealey once more. As soon as the waitress walked off his expression became concerned again. "Care to tell me what happened this morning or do you just want to forget about it?"
"Cuddles are borderline bonding?" Jacen asked rather dryly as he soaped up a wash cloth, "I'll make sure to remember that." He wasn't hurt by her decision, Jacen reflected as he ran the cloth of the gentle curve of Lily's spine, replacing the scent of dried and fryed vomit with that of vanilla scented soap, "I hope the clothes I picked up will work for you. I got the right sizes but as for styles, well, I was still pretty groggy."
Handing the soapy rag over to Lily, Jacen took a step back, a slight smirk on his face as he just appreciated the view. One serious positive with his mutant ability was standing right in front of him. He'd of course slept with a few women over the years but it was extremely rare to share a shower with them. For this particular blond, the shower was the most important part of their arangement which meant that he got to enjoy something he had never really had the opportunity to enjoy before.
Moving close Jacen ducked his head, genlty nipping at a patch of bare skin on her neck as he reached past her to retrieve the shampoo. In their relationship talking was obviously over rated so for now he would do his best to set aside any thoughts about how to read Lily's actions. Theirs was a purely physical relationship and that's all that would come of it. "Let's see about getting that hair cleaned up."
The minutes dragged on without a reply and Jacen came to the decision that Lily had decided to slip out while he was busy. It wasn't really the way he wanted things to end after their experiences the previous night but if that was her decision that was her decision. For now he'd enjoy the hot water of the shower. After squirting a bit of shampoo into his hand Jacen busied himself lathering and scrubbing his hair. Even as short as it was, after last night it was greasy and just a touch stiff from the sweat that had dried into it. Just as he was rinsing out the shampoo the shower door opened and Jacen turned to find himself looking at the blond that he thought had already left.
"You're so good at the quick getaway that I figured I better not expect to much." He said with a slight grin as he stepped to the back of the shower to give her access to the water. While not perfect, Jacen was a pretty good liar so he was able to make something that actually annoyed him sound more like a compliment.
Tilting his head to the sample soap and shampoos that were still sitting in the shower from where Lily had left them the last time he quirked an eyebrow questioningly with just a touch of suggestion in his voice. "Need help washing your back?"
"Hi Kealey, nice to hear from you." The smile that was apparent on his face was just as apparent in his voice as he sat down on the edge of his bed and continued towling his hair dry.
"You're not bothering me at all. What's up?" Jacen asked as he finally lowered the towel and focused completely on the conversation. Something was wrong in the young woman's voice. She was upset or stressed out about something.
"Actually I was hoping you might call some time." It was the truth, especially considering what had happened the last couple of times that Jacen had hung out with his other blond friend. Things were... complicated with Lily but with Kealey they were much more simple. Her innocence helped keep things in perspective and Jacen knew that he didn't have to worry about that particular woman being a thief.
"It's a little late for the coffee thing for me but how about a late lunch? There's this little restaurant called Corner Bistro down on West 4th Street. Care to meet for lunch?" Jacen asked as he glanced over at the digital clock on his nightstand. It was currently about 1:15. By the tim he got dressed and over to the restaurant it would be right around 1:40 to 1:45. Still plenty early for a late lunch. "I can be over there in about twenty five or thirty minutes. Work for you?"
***
The weather was much nice today so Jacen decided he'd take the subway and then walk the rest of the way to the bistro. With the sun shining brightly you could actually begin to feel spring in the air even though there were still small snow banks piled up here and there. Walking easily through the crowd the S.W.A.T. officer almost had a cowboy or construction worker appearance to him. Dressed in scuffed brown work boots, dark blue denim jeans, a forest green button up dress shirt, and a black leather jacket. It was a good combination of casual and dressy that allowed him to impress women while still remaining comfortable.
At the brisk pace Jacen had set for himself, he actually arrived just a few minutes earlier than expected. Walking in he was all set to grab a table when he saw Kealey, already seated at a booth toward the back of the restaurant seemingly away from all of the other customers. It was obvious that a couple of the guys at the bar were tossing glances her way that were meant to be intimate or suggestive but other than that most everyone seemed to be ignoring her.
"You haven't been waiting long I hope." Jacen said with a smile as he walked over and slid into the other side of the booth and looked across the table at the blond young woman, "Are you OK? You sounded a little frazzled on the phone."
Sundays were meant to be a day of rest and relaxation so for Jacen that meant either hunting or recreational sports. On this particular Sunday the sport had been basketball; street basketball played against some of the best players that would never make it to the NBA. The streets of New York was a tough place to grow up and for some, no matter how talented, they would never be able to completely break away from what was holding them back. But even with everything going on around them, they could take at least a few minutes of joy in knowing that they had completely schooled the S.W.A.T. team members that had decided to step onto their turf and issue a friendly challenge. For the street players, today was a day for celebration. For Jacen, it was just like any other Sunday.
Laying on the nighstand in his bedroom, Jacen's cell phone began to ring. Stepping out of the bathroom clad in a pair of sweatpants he walked around the bed while still running a towel through his hair to dry the last of the water from his shower.
"This is Jacen." He answered just a touch officially on the off chance that the office was calling him for some strange reason, "Can I help you?"
She was bringing up a subject that would lead to yet another shower incident and to be quite honest, Jacen wasn't sure that was really where he wanted things to go at this moment. Obviously noone would ever here him complain about that sort of situation if that was where things did head but something just seemed off today.
"I expect one of the doctors gave you a sponge bath when you were out because you smell fine." He replied with a slight chuckle before looking back at his plate and shoveling down the last forkful of eggs. "I on the other hand, had the priviledge of remaining conscious so there was no sponge bath in my hospital experience." Jacen continued as he stood up and walked back into the kitchen, placing his now empty plate and in the sink. For a moment he stood there, trying to come to a firm decision about what he should do. He needed to shave and shower. Those were the items that must take top priority but even as he turned away from the sink and back toward Lily he felt his resolve wavering. There was an obvious opportunity to get this hot blond in a hot steamy shower for the second time. Could he really turn it down?
"I need to shave and get rid of some of this scruff." He said quietly, his eyes searching the young woman for a moment even as he gave in to the desires that had plagued mankind for a millenia, "After that, I'll be available to help wash some of the tangles out of your hair, but only if you're interested of course."
There, he had given in to temptation and had extended an invitation for the blonde beauty to once again join him in the shower but there was no reason to just stand there like an insecure little boy waiting to see if a girl will go to the school dance with him. No, Jacen was ever inch the manly man so without the slightest hesitation he turned and strode toward the bathroom. Dishes and leftover food could be dealt with at a later time. Even showers and the naked women that participated in them could be enjoyed at a later time. For now he had a mission and that was to get rid of the pesky whiskers that had come in over night.
Within a few minutes Jacen had spread a thick lather of shaving cream over his face and started the faucet running with the hottest water possibly. Dipping his raze under the water in order to slightly heat the blades Jacen stared at himself in the mirror. "Hypocrite." He thought as he lifted the razor and slowly scraped it across his skin, separating the prickly hairs from the skin below.
For some men, shaving is a chore. But for Jacen it was more like a therapy. Along with removing the stubble that had begun to show, it was as if he were slicing away the unease that tried to cloud his mind. Here, in what probably amounted to the most dangerous situation than thousands of men would face in their day, he was in complete control. The razor blade moving across his skin wasn't the slightes bit scary even though it passed within millimeters of vital arteries. Finally, with the shaving finished, Jacen felt much more like himself. As his left hand moved to set the razor down on the counter his right moved to shut off the running faucen but suddenly he froze. There was something on the floor partially hidden behind the toilet. Leaving the water running Jacen walked over and picked up the knobby leather wallet that he had never seen in his life. "What the hell?" He murmured to himself as he flipped it open to see an ID for a woman he had never seen before. Who could have dropped this in his bathroom? Ever since meeting Lily he hadn't had any women over so that meant... Lily.
Quickly stowing the wallet in the cabinet under his sink Jacen turned off the faucet water and opened the bathroom door as he glanced out toward the living room. "Your options are open Lily." He called, doing his best to keep his voice light and cheerful, "The shower is in here or there are bags of clothes for you in the guest bedroom closet." Without another word Jacen stripped off his own boxers and then walked over to the shower and turned on the water so that the room almost instantly began to steam up. Whether a certain blond joined him or not, he WAS going to feel clean!
So she was still here. That was... something. Honestly Jacen wasn't completely sure whether he should be happy or upset about that fact. A part of him was glad that Lily hadn't just slipped out this time but another part of him almost wished she had. In a lot of ways things would be easier if he only thought of the woman as a mistress and not someone he might really develop feelings for. "I've got to much on my plate right now." Jacen tried to reason to himself as he took another bite of eggs, "I can't handle a relationship too."
As Lily asked her question he could feel some of the tension releasing from his shoulders. They were still keeping thing relatively impersonal and that was just fine. No need to talk about feeling or try and draw the other person into deeper water. Swift flowing and shallow so that they could enjoy the ride without having to worry about drowning. That was the way things should be.
"The cat didn't do to much damage." Jacen replied, glancing up and offering Lily a wry smile before turning his gaze back down to the eggs, "The scratches on the chest were pretty much superficial but she managed to take a chunk out of the arm. It'll heal but I'll probably end up with yet another 'manly' scar."
Dropping the conversation for a few moment, Jacen fell silent as he focused on quickly downing a decent sized portion of ham, eggs, and coffee, along with two slices of toast.
"What about you?" Jacen finally asked quietly as he toyed with a small pile of eggs that were still on his plate. Lifting his gaze back up to the blond woman he raised an eyebrow questioningly as he focused his gaze soley on her face while pointedly ignoring all the skin that was still bare, "I know they got the eye and drained your reserves. You OK other than that?"
Eventually Jacen would have to go get the bags of clothes he had purchased for the young woman but he wasn't quite ready to let her leave. This time HE would make the choice on when she got to leave. It wasn't her running out on him, this time he was in control and he was going to get at least a little bit of polite conversation before he sent her on her way.
The eggs were coming along just fine and as their scent combined with the odor of frying ham, percolating coffee, and toasting bread, Jacen could feel his mouth beginning to water. Nourishment was what he required and this was going to fit the bill perfectly. "Gettin hungry Li..." He began to ask as he glanced up to find a coffee cup resting on the table but no blond woman in sight.
"If she ran out on me again then I swear... next time it's a hotel room!" Jacen grumbled under his breath as he turned away from the pans in order to pour himself a large cup of black coffee. Continueing to mutter and grumble unintelligible words to himself Jacen turned back around and focused on getting the food plated in bowls or plates large enough to contain them. The eggs were done but perhaps just a touch runny and the ham was beginning to hit the stage of having its edges be that dark brown that is almost black. Anyone looking at the food would see that it was obvious this was not done by an expert chef by right at the moment Jacen really didn't care.
In just a few moments Jacen had the table set with mismatched plates, forks and knives. In between the plates was a large serving platter that held both buttered toast as well as fried ham and a chipped serving bowl that contained the slightly runny scrambled eggs. Sitting down Jacen went ahead and served himself, doing his best to ignore that fact that Lily was nowhere to be seen.
"Food's ready!" Jacen called, his voice noticably clearer and less gravely now that he'd starting drinking some coffee. Not bothering to wait for a response he began to dig in to the food, doing his best to pointedly ignore whether Lily decided to respond or not. If this was the way she wanted to thank him for saving her life by giving her a charge and then getting her out of the hospital then so be it. It would be a helpful reminder that she was just a cheap booty call for when he needed a fix.
As soon as Jacen said the words, 'Good Morning' it seemed as though Lily froze and even though she did her best to keep her face neutral he thought that he could detect just a note of uncertainty in her expression. "She's not used to hanging around for the morning after." Jacen thought as he began to busy himself with the scrambled eggs, "Probably also one of the reasons she's not great with cooking breakfast foods."
Jacen knew that he was no expert chef or cook but honestly... how hard was it to scramble eggs or cook pancakes? Though as he continued to watch Lily struggle the idea of toast instead of pancakes was becoming more and more appealing.
As Lily scrambled to retrieve her extremely over cooked pasta and stared at the bubbling water as though her best friend had betrayed her, Jacen did his best not to laugh. It looked like it was time for him to step in and officially take over breakfast preparations. "You," Jacen said with a gravely chuckle as he took the pot of pasta from her and unceremoniously dumped it out in the sink, "fix yourself some coffee or something and go sit in the living room. I'll finish up here."
After a gentle nudge to get Lily moving any direction that involved her leaving the stove behind, Jacen turned his focus back on breakfast. It wouldn't be fancy but it would deffinately be filling. There were currently eight eggs cooking in the pan and once he had disposed of the last of the pancake batter he moved on making eight slices of toast. Sure it might be a little bit of over kill but Jacen knew that he was really hungry and from the looks of things so was his blond friend.
"I think there's some ham in the fridge..." Jacen muttered to himself as he swiftly cleaned the mess out of Lily's pancake pan and then places it back on the burner. After quickly moving the eggs around to keep them from burning he walked over to the fridge and after a few moments of searching found a package of thick sliced deli ham. Grabbing out a handful of slices Jacen tossed them into the hot pan, creating an enjoyable sizzle as soon as the meat landed.
"If you're ever here for breakfast again, we're going out." Jacen said resolutely, "I'm not a great cook either."
The sky was black and the dark clouds made it look like a starless night. Ranger team Alpha was moving along the through the deserted city, searching for the elusive target that they had been assigned to capture. The informant was in one of these dark houses and without some sort of sign to look for the team would be forced to execute a house to house search. Right at that moment, King suddenly came to a halt, holding up one hand in a closed fist to make all the rest of the team come to a stand still as well. Something wasn't right. Something was off about this whole situation and then it hit him. The scent in the air. Something was burning! Was there an actual fire or just smoke? Could it be the signal?
Slowly Jacen began to wake up. He was still groggy and it took him several moments to realize that the scent of burning in his dream was very real and very present. Glancing over at the empty pillow beside him he yawned and slowly sat up, pivoting around so that he could settle his feet on the floor. Standing to his feet, Jacen paused a moment, doing his best to regain his balance before he began to walk out into the living room. The fact that he was only in his gray boxers either never penetrated his still weary mind or he just didn't care as he padded quietly out to the kitchen to find out exactly what Lily had gotten herself into.
The kitchen was the scene of a valiant battle that was going on between woman and pancake batter. Thus far it appeared that she had succeeded in making one... no two pancakes that on the outside appeared fit for human consumption but the pancake batter was obviously higher up on the score card. The trash can beside her bare legs showed evidence of many blackened shapes that may have been meant to be pancakes but had somehow missed the mark entirely. On the back of the stove a pot continued to boil, apparently forgotten by Lily as she focused on trying to somehow outwit the batter that was giving her so much trouble. It was amazing just how damn cute she looked as she stood there, concentrating on the food while wearing one of his dress shirts and nothing else. The way it flapped open in the front, revealing some skin but not all was almost more tempting than if she had been standing there nude.
"Don't cook much breakfast huh." Jacen observed in his gravely morning voice that wouldn't disappear until after he had drunk something. It was rather amusing to watch but as he felt his own stomach beginning to rumble he knew that it was necessary for him to step in and assist the blond warrior.
"Keep working on those pancakes while I see about scrambling up some eggs." Jacen said with a yawn as he turned away from Lily and made his way over to the coffee maker. In just a few minutes time the coffee filter was in place and filled with ground dark roast Columbian coffee and the tank was filled with water. As he turned back toward the refrigerator the sound of the coffee pot beginning to percolate could already be heard.
"Good morning by the way." Jacen said as nicely as he could with his morning voice as he began to whip up eggs in a bowl and place yet one more frying pan on the stove. A few minutes later, after spraying the pan with some non-stick cooking spray and pouring the now whipped eggs into the pan, he once again turned his gaze toward the pot that was still boiling on the back of the stove. "Uh... if you don't mind my asking, what's in the pot?"
"Take care Kealey." Jacen offered with a smile just before the door closed, "Talk to you soon."
For the new few moments he continued to sit in his truck, watching the young woman until he knew that she had safely made her way into the library. As the doors shut firmly behind her Jacen turned his attention back to his own truck. The conversation with a fellow mutant was over and as much as he might have enjoyed allowing his thought to linger on Kealey and her obvious innocence, it was time to get moving. The call for extra officers could come at any time and just sitting here in front of the library would not be a wise decision.
"Hopefully she won't wait to long." Jacen said with a slight grin as he backed out of his parking space and then slowly drove back out to merge with traffic, "She's a nice girl."
In a few minutes the library was lost from sight as the truck moved down the road toward the main NYPD building. If he was going to wait out the weather he might as well do it along with a few of his friends on the job.
It took several minutes to get through to Lily what information he needed from her but finally her sleep fogged brain was able to communicate via rather slurred speech the sizes that he would need for shopping. For a man like Jacen that knew so little about shopping there was really only one option when it came to a late night clothing pick up like this and that was one of the dreaded big box stores. Some people hated them while others loved them. For Jacen, it really didn't matter. As long as he could get in and get what he needed at this time of night he would be extremely happy.
Stepping out of his apartment building and into the cold Jacen automatically reached for his truck keys when he suddenly realized that the vehicle wasn't here. "Damn!" He swore under his breath before turning and trudging over to the street. It appeared that his only option would be to get a cab.
***
Since Lily had seemed to be sleeping so soundly Jacen decided on taking the cab over to pick up his truck so after a short cab ride and a short drive in the truck he finally arrived at his shopping destination. By now Jacen knew that he had to be looking at least a little bleary eyed but he stoically pressed onward to complete the mission he had taken upon himself.
Walking through the shoe section was probably the easier part of the shopping trip and in short order he had picked out a pair of black leather sandals that would hopefully work for the blond back at his apartment in his bed. Trudging over to the clothing section Jacen did his best to pick out something stylish but with his foggy brain it was quite possible she would hate it. Heck... at least she'd have clothes. Finally settling on a pair of white jeans and a black shirt Jacen turned toward the department that he had been dreading. Even as he walked into the lingerie department he could feel his neck flushing ever so slightly. Picking out a bra and panties for a woman was never an easy task especially when you were trying to keep from conveying anything to sexy. Quickly settling on two pairs of panties, one white and one nude, as well as one black bra and one nude bra so that Lily would have her choices, Jacen turned and hurried for the check out lane. "Home... bed... hurry..." Was all that he could think as he made his way through the check out line.
***
"This is Jacen King, badge number 72170." He said in a weary voice over his cell phone as he called in to the watch commander, "I was involved in an incident this evening that sent me to the emergency room. Some detectives were there to question me but when all the excitement happened they left before I could talk to them. I won't be coming in to work tomorrow due to my injuries but I will come in a little later in the morning to file a report. I'm going home to sleep now so tell the detectives to stay away from my house so I can get some shut eye. Thanks."
With that important phone call out of the way Jacen stepped out of his truck and walked back into the building and up the stairs to his apartment. For a moment he almost left the shopping bags right out in the open but at the last minutes decided to carefully stow them in the guest bedroom closet. Hopefully that would keep Lily from slipping out without his realizing it so that they could at least talk for a little bit the next morning.
As he walked back into the bedroom it was apparent that she was still asleep as her blond hair fanned out over the pillow. Smiling rather tiredly Jacen went through the motions of stripping down to his boxers and then climbed into the sheets beside the beautiful woman. "Sleep well." He murmured drowsily before almost instantly drifting off to sleep.
Jacen felt one of his eyebrow raise slightly in surprise when Kealey said she didn't have any friends but he chose not to make a comment. It was hard to believe that a person couldn't have any friends. Maybe she didn't think she had any but somewhere in her group of acquaintances that had to be someone that could look past her forwardness to see the girl that was beneath it.
"I'm glad I didn't tell you to leave the table." He said with a nod and smile as Kealey reached over to her door handle, "I enjoyed our conversation."
It looked like their chat was going to be over when suddenly and rather comically, Kealey was jerked back into her seat by the seat belt she had forgotten to release.
"It's OK Kealey... really." He said with a slight chuckle before something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait a sec." He said as one hand reached over to gently grip her hand to keep her from leaving the truck. Turning his attention away from the young woman and up to his sun visor, Jacen pulled out a business card and then offered it to the young woman. It was an official police officer's card with his personal number as well as his cell number printed on it. "Sometime when you're beginning to feel overwhelmed by all of those emotions, give me a call. We can probably arrange to bump into each other at one of those coffee shops again."
