2007-04-01: Missed Ye

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif Lachlan_icon.gif

Summary:

After reading the article in the paper about the break-in at Cass' place, Lachlan rushes over to check on her. He gets cuddles for the effort, as well as some information about who and what Sylar is and why Jaden wanted Elena to wear a costume.

Date It Happened:

April 1st, 2007

Missed Ye


Cass' Apartment, Brooklyn

It's been a long day for Cass. A long day and night, really. After calling the police from Prudence's apartment, she had to give her statement, the police had to take evidence from her apartment and then some reporter snagged her on the steps of the department before she could leave. Vultures. Finally, she's managed to make it back to her apartment and has collapsed on the couch having had the energy only to put on some calming music to try and soothe her jangled nerves. It sounds like Iron & Wine. The ultimate calming background music. The chair she was tied to is still turned over and the lamp is still broken where the robbers bumped into it, but she doesn't really have the energy to clean anything up.

KNOCKNOCKNOCK. "Cass?" It probably wouldn't be hard to recognize Lachlan's voice. He came as soon as he read the news, and he came really, really fast, too. He didn't even get fully dressed. Good thing it's not /too/ bad a day outside: tanktop and jeans beneath a jacket is hardly protection against the elements. The dogs are with him and seem just as anxious as he does.

So this time it actually /is/ Lachlan coming to her apartment. She hasn't slept since the robbery and she's exhausted. The couch feels /so nice/ and she just managed to lie down on it. But, she can hear the tone of Lachlan's voice and it's not one that she can just leave out in the hallway. Wearily, she drags herself into a standing position and trudges over to the door, unlocking and opening. "Lach?"

Not unlike his canine counterparts, as soon as the door is opened, Lachlan starts to push inside. As soon as he's able, he moves to wrap Cass up in a near-crushing embrace, breathing out a quiet and relieved "fuck". The dog leashes are dropped, but all three of them obediently creep into the apartment and don't make attempts to run off. "Read the paper an' ran over here," the Scotsman explains further. "'Re ye a'righ'? Did they hurt ye?"

"Ack!" Cass doesn't really have the energy to fight against the embrace. It's actually kind of nice. Once she's able to breath again. "Need. Air," she gasps. Then, she just kind of limply leans against the Scot, much too tired to be angry or anything else at him. It's just kind of nice to have him worried about her. "I'm fine. They just threatened me and tied me up."

Oh. Uh. Maybe he's squeezing too hard. Lachlan eases up and takes a step back, though he keeps his hands on Cass' shoulders as he peers at her worriedly, though he does manage a weak, if not relieved smile. "Yeah? Yeah?" She's really fine? She's not hiding any gaping, weeping wounds or bruises? "Fuckers. 'D tie their bloody legs 'round their necks an' roll 'em through Times Square." But the paper said the thieves were arrested and awaiting charges. Back to Cass: "Ye need anythin'?"

There are no wounds on Cass. The whole thing happened so fast the only people that got hurt were the thieves. "Some masked guy came and did a pretty good job of beating them senseless. So I think you're covered." Tired. She just sounds tired. "I liked the holding. Let's go back to that for now. I'm just so exhausted. And kind of numb."

Holding. Okay. Lachlan can do that. He grins and wraps his arms around Cass again, though with not nearly the same amount of force as before. But wait, she said she was tired and numb. That means she should be lying down. "C'mere." He bends and moves to lift her; if she doesn't make any moves to stop him, he'll take her over to the couch and sit.

"Hmm-MMF!" That's the sound of Cass being lifted by surprise. She doesn't struggle and just sighs contentedly once she's on the couch. Oh, to not be standing any more. That's good. As soon as they're both settled, she leans against Lachlan. "I'm starting to feel like nothing's safe any more. It was a homeless guy robbing the store only a couple of days ago and now it's two masked guys in my apartment in the middle of the night. Now there's masked guys claiming my neighborhood has his turf. What's happening to this city?"

Once they're both settled and Cass is leaning aginst him, there's more holding. Yeah, Lachlan's pretty good at that. He shrugs a bit as the dogs take the opportunity to settle in around the two pairs of feet. "'S just how the city's allus been," he replies offhandedly. "Fulla morons." A pause before he gives Cass' shoulders a squeeze. "Ye should get a dog."

"Mm. I'd never dealt with any of this until a couple of months ago." Cass sighs. "And I've got bullet holes in my wall." Lifting her head up a bit she gives Lachlan a look. "A dog? I don't have time for a dog. It'd need walking and playing with and more attention than I could give it. As it is I don't even know when I'm going to be able to get a new phone."

"Well then ye can borrow one o' m'dogs." Glancing towards his feet where he knows the animals to be, Lachlan adds, "Uh. When I get a Doberman." Because miniature pinschers aren't really that fearsome. Cute, portable, but not fearsome. "Ye can keep 'im 'round at nigh' an' when ye go ta werk, an' I'll worry 'bout trainin' an' keepin' 'im happy."

"What, you're renting dogs as well as training them, now?" Cass snickers at that. "Aww. But I like Bonnie. And these two little guys are adorable." She is obviously not thinking of dogs as guards but as cute pets. It's what she's used to. "I'd probably undo all the training you give them. I'd spoil Bonnie rotten."

"Dinna say I was gonna get rid o' Bonnie— " whose head pops up to rest her chin on Lachlan's knee and stare with wide eyes at the two people who are talking about her. What? Why all the name-mentioning? "— Just said I'm gettin' a Doberman. An' the min-pins're no' mine, they're a client's. 'M workin' with 'em." Babblebabble. Back to the point: "Ye canna undo m'trainin' if the dogs're comin' back ta me ever'day."

Cass grabs one of her throw pillows and then positions herself so that she's sprawled out on the couch with her head resting on Lachlan's lap. That's much more comfortable. "Never said you were getting rid of her. Just that I like her," she yawns. "And you never know. I'm quite talented at undoing other people's training." Pause. She's almost asleep, actually. "Oh. Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Elena to see how her dad's doing," she murmurs.

Well, with Cass' head in his lap, retrieving his phone is a bit awkward. Lachlan has to push himself up an inch or two off the couch to get into his jacket pocket, but he's soon pulled out the cell — mostly brand-new, thanks to the replacement from about a month ago — and holds it out for Cass to take. Once it's taken, he'll idly drape his arm over her side.

"Mm. Thanks." Twisting so that she can read the screen on Lachlan's phone, Cass starts pushing buttons, trying to figure out how to get to his contacts. It's a different model from her own and she's never really been intuitive with technology. Without even knowing how she got there, there's a text message from Elena there. And whatever it reads makes Cass gasp and sit straight up. A sudden burst of adrenaline banishes that exhaustion she was feeling moments ago. "Holy…When'd Elena send this? When did Sylar get his powers back?"

Blinkblink? Lachlan is shocked at the abrupt change in Cass' demeanor, and he can only sit staring silently at her for a few seconds. "Uh … no' long ago? Dunno, yesterday, t'day, sometime. Why?" The days kinda bleed into each other for Lachlan sometimes, he's not quite sure when the message got to him. Then, his eyes narrow and his lips contort into a confused frown. "'S it a crime ta tell me who the bloody hell this Sylar guy is an' why everyone's in a bloody tizzy over 'im?"

Oh, Cass' demeanor is changed. Now she /definitely/ looks scared. The numbness is gone but it has nothing to do with being robbed at gunpoint. Scrambling up, she goes tearing for the table with her laptop still closed on top of it and the papers strewn on the floor from earlier when things went crashing. "He kills people, Lachlan. People like you. He searches you out and then he cuts open your head and takes what he wants. Even Mr. Nakamura was nervous about this guy and that's when he didn't have his powers." Tossing ones aside the papers she doesn't want, she finally snatches up the print out with Sylar's picture on it. Returning to the couch she holds it out him. "You promise me. You see this guy, you run for it and don't even look back." She looks worried now.

Wow, this guy's really got Cass shaken up. Lachlan expects the picture to be of someone extremely /evil/-looking, but then it's just … this guy. Bushy Eyebrows. He stares at the photo in disbelief, then takes it from Cass' hand to stare at it more. Is she /serious/? "This guy?" he questions, raising one eyebrow skeptically. "Fuck, I could break his neck five times with one bloody hand." /Seriously/?!

Looks are deceiving and Lachlan is not taking this seriously. Cass looks even more worried now. Oh God. He's going to get himself killed. "No. Really, Lachlan. You /have/ to promise me. He kidnapped Mohinder and his ward without his powers. If he's cured, he probably killed them by now. He's broken out of a facility /specifically/ meant to hold people like him. There's dozens of people he's killed. He…he does things. He /takes/ peoples powers somehow by killing them." Reaching out to take Lachlan's chin, she tries to make him look her right in the eye. She /will/ make him take this seriously. "/Please/ Lachlan. I can't have that happen to you."

… wait, who's Mohinder? Oh, wait, yeah. The doctor guy. Well. Lachlan's /definitely/ not torn up about /that/ potential loss, and it shows in the somewhat disdainful curl of his lip once he recognizes the name. The mention of taking people's powers by killing them gets a frown, but it still is obviously not sinking in fully for the Scotsman. When his chin is grabbed, he doesn't resist when his head is turned, and he looks Cass right in the eye, shocked. Whoa. This Sylar-wimp is /really, really/ freaking Cass out. This /still/ doesn't manage to drive home the fact that Sylar is a Very Dangerous Man, but it's enough to make Lachlan worry just a bit. "A'righ', a'righ'," he acquiesces with a sigh. "If ye say he's bloody Hannibal Lecter, then he's Hannibal Lecter. 'Ll no' go near 'im." It's anyone's guess just how sincere this promise is. After all, if he runs into Sylar on the street and the guy's looking for a fight, well …

On a normal day, Cass would probably push Lachlan for more reassurance that he won't go after him. Or take the sigh to mean 'I'm not really taking this seriously'. However, it is decidedly not a normal day for the bookstore owner and she's so tired she'll just take Lachlan's words at face value. Letting her hand drop from his chin, she lets out a sigh. "Good. Thanks." The boost that the fear gave her is starting to fade from her system without anything else to fuel it, leaving her feeling even more drained before. She yawns and stretches back out on the couch again, sprawling out on Lachlan. "I need to call Elena. And I need to get that clinic open so I can start working on how to stop him and Ramon's serial killer." A larger yawn interrupts anything else she was about to say. "But I think…I need to lay here for a few moments."

Clinic? What clinic? Lachlan doesn't mind when he's sprawled upon, not in the slightest. After a few moments of simply sitting there with a Cass across his lap, however, he decides to join her in the whole "laying down" thing and slips his legs out from beneath her to wedge himself between her and the back of the couch. If this means he's got to throw an arm over her, then so be it. Mm, snug. Once settled, he makes with the questioning: "Wha' clinic?"

Oh, right, Lachlan wasn't in on the few people who knew about Cass' clinic idea. Nor was he there for the scarring events of Jaden Cain blackmailing into Elena wear a costume for funding. They weren't speaking at that point. When Lachlan shifts to snug in, she moves to make it a bit easier for him, turning so that she's facing him. However her eyes are closed and her arms are folded up between them. "Mmm." It's actually quite comfy. "I wanted to start a lab or a clinic to help people with abilities so they could learn to control them. An alternative to the Company. So people's options weren't kidnapping or kidnapping." Her response is slow, and a bit mumbled do to their position, but certainly still audible. "I was gonna try to find out about that virus Sylar had that stopped his powers."

"Oh." Blink. Lachlan semi-knew that Cass had some medical training of some sort (though it was filed away more as a "Cass Is Way, Way, Way Smarter Than You" thing, as opposed to "Cass Can Has Be Doctor Plz?") but he didn't think she'd put it to use like this. After all, she's Cass the Bookstore Owner: Two Tattoos and Listener to The Cure. Cass the Clinician is just /odd/. "Tha's nice o' ye." Pause. "Who're ye gonna run it with?"

Cass throws one of her arms across Lachlan's waist so that she can snuggle in closer. The couch is only so wide, after all. "Nah, it's kind of high and mighty of me. Thinking I can start something that's better than a huge organization. But if I can show them the don't have to use totalitarian methods to accomplish their goals, maybe they'll stop them." Even tired, she still has lofty ideas. "Mmm. Elena said she'd help when she can. Jaden Cain said I could open it up in his basement since Elena wore that costume for him." Sleepy Cass also doesn't distinguish what might be better kept in her head and said allowed. "I'll hopefully find more help along the way. Maybe I'll ask Mr. Petrelli. He's supposed to be developing some plan with some girl named Elle." At least, that's what the envelope Jane gave her said.

Closer proximity and snuggling is encouraged with small movements to accommodate Cass's nearness and a tightening of Lachlan's arm around her. He rests his chin against her hairline and sighs contentedly. There is a Cass. She is safe and sleepy. Life is good. He doesn't know who Jaden Cain is, he doesn't know which Petrelli Cass is talking about, and he definitely doesn't know who Elle is, so all these things sort of go in one ear and out the other. "Mebbe," is all he really offers. Then, a pause and a frown. Wait, what? His brow furrows. "Wha' costume?"

Totally oblivious to the fact that this may all be going over Lachlan's head, Cass is silent for a bit. It's possible that she drifted off in the pause between when she stopped talking and Lachlan asked his question. And then, she has to process the question and try to link it back to what she was saying before. "Costume? Who's got a costume?

"Ye said Elena wore a costume fer tha' Cain guy." If /Cass/ can't keep up with the conversation, sleepy as she is, all hope is lost for Lachlan's abilities to process it. The fact that he focused in on the costume part should be evidence enough of that.

"I did?" Cass sounds confused. She told Elena that she would never bring that night up again. "Noooo. I told her I wouldn't tell anyone about it. I couldn't have." Oh, the inside voice is becoming outside again and she still doesn't realize it.

Well, that just makes it /more/ confusing (and yet intriguing). Now there's no doubt in Lachlan's mind that this costume thing was some sort of sordid, kinky method of persuasion. Unfortunately, Cass has probably told the worst person she could have ever chosen (outside of the girl's father, perhaps). "Wait, wait. Though' she was with tha' Eric kid?" Another brief pause and the Scotsman grins, though it's likely more felt in the tug of this facial muscles rather than seen. "Di'ye wear a costume too?"

"I. What. I think so." This is confusing Cass, because the costume wearing was Jaden being crazy and wanting to be a superhero. "I don't think Elena and Jaden have anything going. He's kind of insane." Then, she /feels/ that grin. She can even hear it in his voice. Pulling back slightly, she gives him a thwap against the chest. "Heeey. Stop making fun. He wanted to get /me/ in one of those tarty superhero costumes, too." Of course she forgets that she didn't tell Lachlan what costume she's talking about.

/Tarty superhero costume/? The kink-factor in Lachlan's mind shoots through the /roof/, and instead of being chastised, this addition makes him grin /wider/ and snorrrrrt. "He /wha'/?" The Scotsman can't help it: he starts to laugh. It's /subdued/ laughter that he is /trying/ to hold back, but he's failing miserably. "Ye … with the …" His eyes get wide as a sudden revelation hits (he's had an apostrophe!) and he glances upward toward the bedroom door. "D'ye still have it?" By the sound and look of things, he's pondering going in /search/ of this tarty superhero costume.

"Heeey!" Now the protest from Cass is louder. And less sleepy. "This isn't funny!" Okay, maybe it will be when she's not exhausted and when the whole Jaden incident is put further behind her. "No I don't have it! He hasn't made it yet." Blink. That sounded bad. "Not that he is going to. Or even if he /does/ that I would ever wear something like that. Stop grinning like that!"

Yet! She said "yet"! That means /it is inevitable/! Lachlan grins /even more/, face alight with mischief. "Aw, c'mon, ye'd look bloody hot," he retorts truthfully. "Wha's it look like?" He's already come up with about five thousand different designs, and all of them are less made for agility and movement and more made for /sexy/.

"I don't know," Cass replies and then groans. "And I'm /not going to/. And /even if I did/ there's no guaranteeing that you'd see it." Sighing, she lets the arm she's leaning on collapse so that she's laying down fully again. She just doesn't have the energy to argue for long periods of time.

B-but. But! /But/! Lachlan is truly devastated by that last remark, and he too drops down onto his side again with a classic puppy-dog look. Since he and Cass are so near on the couch, she gets hit full-on in the face at close range. He even tucks in his chin to put his face more on the same plane as hers. "Why no'?" he whiiines in a pleading tone, drawling out the vowels just slightly.

Cass returns Lachlan's gaze with a stern one of her own. However, her arms are still wrapped around him so the sternness might be slightly tempered. Cuddling is one thing. Sleeping with him and wearing kinky clothes for him is something very different. "Because I can't trust you like that just yet." It's completely honest saying and not meant to hurt him. Then, she yawns, ruining the sternness. Closing her eyes, her head leans lolls forward closer to the Scot. "But I want to." Because he's here for her right now and that counts for something.

… oh. Well. To say that the answer isn't somewhat painful would be a lie, and it shows momentarily on Lachlan's face. However, he's getting cuddled, and the addendum takes the edge off almost completely, to the point where he's able to simply brush the hurt aside. If she wants to trust him, then he'll do everything in his power to make himself trustworthy. The Scot tilts his chin upward to cushion Cass' head beneath it, then strengthens his hold and half-closes his eyes. He's content with cuddles. "'Ve missed ye," he informs her quietly.

Quite content to just lay like this on the couch, Cass settles into the cuddling position easily. She wasn't trying to hurt Lachlan, only tell him the truth. And while that may hurt, she can't help that. "Missed you, too," she murmurs. "Thanks for coming to check on me." Then, a short while after that, she's fast asleep.

Lachlan has thanks enough; he gets cuddles and a sleeping Cass. It's a bit like a puppy falling asleep in one's lap. The Scotsman does eventually doze off a bit, but he's not napping for more than an hour before he realizes that he's got a client or two lined up and he's probably already late for appointments. With some hesitance, he extracts himself from the sleeping woman, but he leaves his phone behind with her. She said she had calls to make. After creeping into the bedroom to retrieve a blanket and cover Cass with it, Lachlan slips back out with the two miniature pinschers, leaving Bonnie behind to keep watch. Back home for him.

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