Needing to Talk with him

Chris had been at the hospital quite a bit more than he ever normally would due to Arabella's condition at Lakai's hands. He couldn't shake feeling partly responsible for what had happened and given he had helped save Alec's life, he felt that he owed it to them to do everything he could to not only protect her but be there when he was able so long as work permitted. Even when he was home, he was exhausted having to work early in the morning then stopping by the hospital at night barely having enough time to shower and sleep before doing it all over the next day.

He was distant from his roommate, but a lot had been going on as of late including his little confrontation with Lakai and other mutants in the mall when he was genuinely trying to get away from it all. It seemed that life wasn't without its own sense of humor in Chris' life and it was something he was just going to have to accept. If Skye hadn't told him to be home for dinner, he'd have stayed at the hospital longer, but didn't want to ruin a planned event that he was informed of as it just wasn't something he felt right doing.

After parking he went to his apartment and walked in, the smell of food hitting his nose instantly. It smelled great and the table was set in a neat arrangement looking more like a fine dinning establishment than his small apartment dinning space. He removed his coat and hung it on the rack next to the door and nodded at Skye with a smile of his own. "It smells great. You didn't have to do this."

(ooc: I don't recall Chris ever mentioning the story behind the dogtags to Skye? I may be mistaken, though)

"Yeah, I've been... well, busy lately so it's nice to take a step back and relax some," he replied and moved to his own chair, taking a seat picking up the glass and taking a smell of the wine. He liked the occasional glass, but hadn't had any in so long that he'd almost forgotten what a good table wine tasted like. He lingered on the scent for a moment before taking a sip and letting the flavors rest on his palate while turning his eyes to Skye giving her his attention.

After swallowing the wine he shook his head with a kind smile, "You don't owe me anything. I would have done this for any of our kind - it was either here or on the street where the M.R.D. would pick you up. I'd not wish that on my worst enemy." On second thought, he may have wished it on his worst enemy, but wouldn't do so on a whim and would require a very good reason.

"Okay? What do you want to talk about," he questioned and sat the glass of wine back down, curious what she had to say feeling it had something to do with his being gone as of late but she was going to have to understand that his life was more hectic than ever since arriving in New York. Then there was the situation with Arabella and Lakai to contend with and it was all either unraveling or tangling into a complex web, he wasn't really sure. All he knew was he was strapped in for the ride either way.

Chris had gotten all but a couple of bites of food in before he stopped and laid his silverware down when she began speaking and narrowed his eyes a bit having been taken aback by what she'd said. She wasn't his wife, girlfriend and certainly not his mother so he found no reason to have to explain himself to her whatsoever. He'd taken her in to practically save her life out of common courtesy to a fellow mutant, but he'd never taken too kindly to people prodding into his personal affairs. His teeth gritted and he took a calming breath remembering his lessons of control to prevent a power outage or some other catastrophe that would come as a result of him being angry.

"Skye... you're a new friend and recent roomate, but I don't have to tell you where I've been as if you're a family member or my wife - let's just get that out there first," he spoke plainly wanting to make it clear that the apartment was still his house and he didn't like where the conversation was going. She was sounding more like a clingy one-night-stand than a roomate. "However, if you must know, I've been with a friend at the hospital watching over her. She's one of us and she needs me - she and her brother, actually."

While his time at the apartment had been scarce, he felt it a necessary evil and sat back in the chair looking down at the dinner. "Yeah, it's good. But, quite honestly Skye, I really don't think I'm going to like where this conversation is going. Talk of making things different then asking where I've been... but... go ahead, say what you need to say. I'll listen."

The young man didn't say anything and simply listened to Skye, sighing at her words not liking the awkwardness of the situation. When she finally paused, he spoke up, "Look, Skye, I think you're a good person but I'm just not interested in you like that - I hate to admit it, but... there's something about Arabella... I think I'm supposed to be the one to help her. It's crazy, but maybe it's fate." He realized how crazy he had to be sounding and sipped his own wine and looked back over at her when she spoke again.

"What the hell are you doing," he exclaimed but it wasn't to any avail and she fell down tot he ground bleeding all over his floor. He stood there a moment in temporary shock of what he'd just seen and heard, but coming to the conclusion that he didn't have time to debate his thoughts on it all and had to get her medical attention before she died on his floor. Initially, he thought of calling for an ambulance, but knew that her power wouldn't allow any doctor to physically touch her to do what had to be done and concluded that the only place left to turn was the Xavier Institute.

He'd never been there, but knew that it was the last place the MRD would go to find her and the best chance for someone to be able to not be harmed by her. He wrapped a kitchen towel around the wound and kept pressure on it before picking her up and carrying her down to his truck. Not wanting to cause her any more pain that she'd already done to herself, Chris carefully sat her in the passenger seat and fastened her belt before getting behind the wheel and setting off for the Institute.