healed and bruised (nc17)

Chris was glad Arabella was awake and improving which was in stark contrast to the condition she was in a few weeks prior when no one knew if she would live or not. Realizing that it wasn't as much his fault as he'd initially believed lifted a weight from the young man's chest. He'd seen enough life suffer and die by his hand and didn't wish to see another be snuffed out because of his lack of security. Though, on a more positive note, the turn of events had prompted him to stop by more often and he'd gotten to where he checked in almost daily to not only see Arabella's progress but to make sure Lakai didn't return to finish the job or undo what she'd done to help.

When he came into the hospital and went to her room, it was empty and upon asking around, he'd uncovered that she was in one of the courtyards getting some fresh air and would be released by the end of the day. It was a sunny day and the wind wasn't as bad as it had been at the early part of the week, so he couldn't blame anyone for taking advantage of it. Chris followed the instructions given to him by one of the more friendly nurses and made his way to the courtyard spotting the blonde sitting on a bench nearby.

"I have to say that you're getting your glow back," he stated plainly with a soft smile as he came to a stop beside her. "I hear your brother is working on getting you out of here."

Chris noticed her surprise and arched a brow then muttered an apology not having intended to startle her. She stood quickly making the male have to take a step back afraid they would collide with one another. It wasn't so much a fear of her falling as it was a fear of a memory of his being shared with her that she didn't need to see. There had been things he'd seen and done in his life, especially after the war, that no one should have to live through.

Smiling at her more than polite way of saying hello, he nodded. He understood that she was an English lady, but he couldn't shake his more American way of nodding with a slight wave of the hand. It gave him pause in wondering what his country would be like if people took to using more English ways of greetings. "Nothing to forgive. I'm just glad you're feeling better. As for Alec, as far as I'm aware, he's just fine. I just came out to talk to you. I've come to enjoy your company over the past few weeks."

Chris could relate to what she was saying. When he came to New York, he only had Violet, but then she vanished without a trace and he had no one. Then along came Skye, but she turned out to be a bit unstable mentally and he wasn't too sure about being around her at least until she had her emotions more in check.

"I can relate. My only friend I had here disappeared too. So... well, I can't lie to you - I'd love to spend more time with you." The moment the words had escaped his mouth, his own cheeks flushed pink and he cleared his throat, glad she'd looked away so she wouldn't see his own expression. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself then spoke again. "I mean, I want disappear on you. Especially after all that's happened and getting to know you and your brother." He didn't want to state his thoughts on the danger being gone. The way he saw it, danger like that was never truly gone, it just changed faces and attitudes. There was always a villian, big and small, to take the place of one defeated in his experience though he'd rather see her enjoy being safe.

Chris was both shocked and happy when she took his hand. He hadn't expected it, but it was a pleasant action nonetheless. He listened about her brother and nodded. Alec had done him no wrong and, if anything, had done considerably more for him than any of his other friends had save for just a couple in his entire life. He was a good man and Chris knew that he would do anything for his sister even if it meant his own life would be in danger; among other things, Chris could respect him for that. His military service in England only added to the respect he held for her brother.

When Arabella got her words mixed up and stopped, Chris turned to her with a look of concern but figured it was a result of what had happened to her. He patted her hand softly, "It's alright. I know what you meant and I do too. They sound like they were great people. So long as you remember them, then they'll always be with you, though. Never forget that."

"Good," he replied with a nod, "memories are worth holding on to. I am sorry that you saw that happen, though... there aren't enough words..." He stopped and shook his head with a sigh. He had no way of conveying sympathy for something like that. Even though he and his family were on bad terms, he didn't have to watch them be slaughtered; if that were the case, he wasn't sure what kind of man he'd become. While his father was a threat and needed to go soon, his mother was innocent as was his brother.

Chris could never harm them, nor would he stand for anyone else doing it either. And, despite his plans and history on the matter, he loved all of them which made thinking about it that much more difficult.

The young man sighs at mention of the memory and nods in understanding of why she wanted to keep them. He couldn't blame her and her logic was sound. If anything happened to his brother and mother and he had to see the memory through another's eyes he'd do so. His motivations would have been much darker than Ari's were, though; he had a knack for seeking revenge.

Chris' expression turned from one of calm concern for Arabella to rage as his eyes widened at the mention of the man's name and then narrowed. He couldn't help but cause the building's lights to flicker but had to take a deep breath to keep from causing the machines to short-circuit and people to die. "This... Ray... what did he talk to you about? And how long ago was he here?"

Chris anxiously followed, not liking the idea that his father had been there to speak to Arabella. The man was too self-centered for it to have been a mere social call on the girl his son was interested in, though finding out any information about either of them was especially dangerous. It could only have meant that she was in more danger after talking to him than she could have ever been at the hands of Lakai.

He remained silent as the blonde dug through her bag then looked at the bear, with narrowed eyes. She didn't see anything she said to him as important, but it was more important than she could imagine. "Anything else? Where you're staying for instance? Believe me, something you may have seen as unimportant may be essential information." He looked at the bear for a moment, regarding it with partial disdain. His father had never been one to give out gifts, especially to strangers. Even his own sons were lucky to get a 'that a boy' when they were growing up. Something was definitely amiss and Chris had to figure it all out but didn't want to alarm Arabella or Alec to the danger until he had something concrete to go on.

In the unlikelihood that the man genuinely was just trying to reconnect with his son, which was highly unlikely, then he'd only make a fool of himself but he wanted to keep his bases covered. His father had been after him since he left their home, which is why he'd kept moving from place to place. If the Colonel knew where he was, then MRD was likely not far behind. "I need to know every detail you told him. Now. Did you mention your release today?"

Arabella had given him far too much information about herself, including an address. Chances were that MRD were already there waiting on her or would be there soon to take both of the last members of Evolution with them. On the bright side he didn't know where his own son lived and it gave him the advantage so long as people weren't waiting outside of the hospital to tail them wherever they may go.

"Listen to me. That man is not my friend," he explained when asked about why he was acting strange. "And he's not yours either - he's a military Colonel and MRD leader. The niceness is only an act. Now they know where you're staying, who yo are with and strengths as well as your weaknesses." He sighed and looked over at Alec then shook his head.

"We can't go back to Aramis' house - that'd be stupid. We're going to have to go somewhere else," as he spoke he looked down at the bear in his hands and started examining it for cameras or anything out of the ordinary. It appeared to be just a normal stuffed animal, but Chris knew his father too well to take anything at face value.

Chris instinctively wrapped his arms around her reassuringly when she buried her face in his shirt. He hated seeing women upset and it made him feel powerless to do anything despite the fact he was quite capable of doing several things if he put his mind to doing so. When she let go, he kept his hands gently wrapped around her then released her as well and nodded at her words. "Believe me, I know the feeling. People have been trying to kill me for years... then again, I usually do something to warrant it, but sometimes it's no reason at all. As for when it will end.... I can't tell you because I honestly don't know, but I won't let anything happen to you."

He liked the idea of putting the tracking device somewhere else. He could just override it, but that indicate to his father that something was wrong and they'd send MRD in to take all of them to lockup. They had to play it smart. "We'll think of something."

About that time, Alec made his way over and he sighed and looked the man in the eyes not wanting to lie about who was after them, but not ready to tell them it was his father. He didn't want to give them any reason to not trust him and would break the news to them after he had removed his father from the equation, but they had to get to safety first. "An MRD guy - Colonel in the military. Technically he's after me, but he knows about Arabella and will use her to get to me... he's smart among other things. He came by here and gave Arabella the bear. I can feel the bug in its chest but if we destroy it then they'll just come here so it's best to lure them elsewhere but putting the bug on an animal or possibly a taxi. It'll give us time to get to safety. Got any ideas?"