Birdhouse in Your Soul

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie flinched, too. "John! It's all right, it's just us! We're safe now!"

She turned questioningly to Spectre. "Aren't we?"

[Spectre]

"Yeah, your welcome.. Think nothing of it..." Jerk. Should have left you..

Spectre sighed, giving over the bottle and climbing back into the front seat, away from the man and the girl..

"Yes, Jamie. We're alright for the minute but we have to keep moving, it won't be long before they catch up to us and we have to switch vehicles, as well.."

She started thinking. If Dragon had his way they would have to fight over the girl. They both wanted her and had only worked together out of necessity, not any sort of true partnership. She couldn't forget that he was a gene traitor, and he obviously didn't care that she could have left him to rot, but hadn't..

Typical..

[Dragon]

Truth be told, Dragon was somewhat surprised to have awakened in the backseat rather than in a ditch by the side of the road.

The night was still young, though. With Spectre in the driver's seat, he'd be left behind sooner or later. He gave her a wary look as he found a cupholder for the water bottle.

"We certainly can't be seen in a damaged Humvee by daylight," he said. "I could call the Institute - they could send a car to meet us within the hour."

[Spectre]

"Fine. Do that." She was not going to say any more to the ungrateful wretch than she had to.

She was tempted to use the GPS to find them an all-night diner for those pancakes, but that would only have Jericho's forces dropping in before they could have the bacon on the griddle. Breakfast might have to wait.

Spectre grabbed another bottle of water for herself without bothering to even so much as glance Dragon's way, he could take it however he wanted, but she was not happy with him. Even if they were on different sides, there was no excuse for being rude to someone trying to help you!

From around her neck she pulled a silver necklace with what appeared to be a locket attached, she opened it up and spilled two tiny white pills into her hand, and chugged them down with water.

"So? Hurry up already.."

[Dragon]

She hadn't objected, which meant she likely had her own transportation, or at least some sort of contingency plan - Dragon was certain she wasn't going to let Jamie go into the Institute's custody without complaint.

He ignored her petulant tone and removed his radio from his belt. "Will do." Then, as he keyed in the frequency, he thought better of his own attitude. She'd shown him a great deal more compassion than he'd expected.

"And... thank you."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie couldn't understand the rancor that seemed to have developed between her rescuers - she wanted so much to ask them about it, but she was afraid it would only make it worse.

But now that John was calling this Institute (that word was off-putting, somehow), she couldn't very well ask him.

So she grabbed one of the shirts Spectre had liberated from the trunk and pulled it over her body - it dwarfed her, but she welcomed the warmth - and climbed over the center console into the passenger seat. Catching Spectre's eye, she tapped the side of her head.

What's going on? she thought. Why are you so angry?

[Spectre]

Her green eyes lifted, in the half light of the Humvee's interior. Completely expressionless once more, exactly like she should be. "You're welcome.."

She didn't want to like him. Gene traitor. Enemy. End of story.

Jamie plopped into the seat and Spectre heard the question. Sooner or later, probably sooner, Jamie was going to realize that she couldn't stay with 'them'. That she would have to go with one of them and not see the other again. Either choice would be hard for her, as they had both saved her and she had developed trust for each of them.

'John and me? We don't exactly see eye to eye on many subjects. I should be what he thinks I am. I should have left him..'

Sullenly, she stared into the night..

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie looked worried and confused. But I don't understand... I thought you were a team!

[Spectre]

Spectre looked straight at Jamie, meeting her eyes and holding her gaze.

'Err.. Not exactly.. In fact, this was a one time thing to get you out of there. That was our goal tonight, and we have done it. He wants you to go with him to a place called Cullen's. I can't go there.. I live with other mutants.. somewhere else.'

She glanced back in the mirror, keeping her mind on Dragon for a moment - he was calling for their ride.. Smart choice.

[Dragon]

John clipped his radio to his belt again. "Fifteen miles down the road, there's an overlook," he said. "We can dispose of the Humvee there. It's also within walking distance of a small village. That's where our transportation will meet us. We might even have time for some breakfast."

He glanced between his two companions. He could tell by the look on Jamie's face that she was troubled.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie tried to muster a smile. "So where are we going after that?" she asked, her voice a little strained.

[Dragon]

"Jamie," John said, "I'd like to take you to a place where you won't be poked and prodded by doctors, and you won't have to take all kinds of nasty medicines, and you'll never have to wear a collar again. You'll be able to go to school with other kids who have amazing gifts like yours. You'll live in a big house, and you'll be able to play in the biggest lawn and the most beautiful woods you've ever seen. And I'll be there, too. I'm one of the teachers."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Her eyes widened with every word - it all sounded amazing (well, except maybe for going to school). It couldn't be true!

Could it?

"But... Spectre won't be there," she said, looking forlornly at the fair-haired woman.

[Spectre]

Spectre nodded at Dragon's suggestion regrding the Humvee. They needed to lose it as soon as was possible, and breakfast sounded good. She needed to recover mentally, and he needed to eat to get some strength through his body fromt he lingering effects of the tranquilizers.

"No, Jamie..", she said softly, almost regretfully. "I won't be there."

She swivelled in the seat and gave her a wink. "I'm too old to go to school, and they would never let me teach. I'd just end up in detention."

She was trying to lighten the mood of the situation, and probably failing miserably, but if Jamie didn't want to go to Cullen's with Dragon, Spectre would make sure she didn't...simple as that.

[Dragon]

Roughly fifteen minutes later, they stood at the apex of a steep emankment covered in deciduous overgrowth. John leaned his back against the Humvee and slowly rolled it forward toward the edge until gravity took hold. It quickly picked up speed and barreled through branches over shrubbery until it crashed to rest somewhere deep beneath the treeline below.

They'd taken a down jacket for Jamie, and it practically enveloped her, but she was warm inside. Then they crossed the vacant highway and began hiking down the other side of the hill toward the distantly glimmering lights of a tiny Connecticut borough.

By the time they reached the foot of the hill, John was carrying Jamie, and she was nodding off to the rhythm of his footsteps.

"It's better for her, you know," John said quietly. Spectre glanced his way, her expression unreadable in the twilight.

"We can give her back her childhood. She'll have friends. An education. You know that Saladin would only use her as a weapon in your war. She deserves better than that."

[Spectre]

Dragging her gaze away from the man and child, Spectre warred with herself silently before speaking. "What's the difference? You'll do the same in time. So we want her to be with her own kind and make her strong now.. You, rather, would see her grow up thinking nothing is wrong, and then spring it on her of all of a sudden one day, putting her into the war?"

Lesser of two evils indeed.. Gene traitor.

"You are no different...", she said more quietly..

"..Do not let your teaching credentials make you a model pillar of the mutant community, Dragon... You've killed. I've killed. The only difference is you chose to side with those who would suppress her, maybe cage her in time... and I'd like her to realize her full potential now."

"She can go to any school she wants, and she could make friends with anyone.. She's a lovely child. You are not her only hope. So spare me.."

[Dragon]

John narrowed his eyes. "I have no illusions about what I am. About what we are, Spectre. Would you force her into your own mold? Or would you rather give her a choice in the matter?"

[Spectre]

"I came here tonight to give that little girl a chance at life.. To get her out of that Hell hole. It had nothing to do with you and your 'institute'. You are the one insisting she must go there.. Why don't you ask her what she wants? She's not without an opinion on the matter, I'm sure..."

Spectre continued walking until the soft ground of the woods gave way to pavement once more, and the halogen glow of street lights eased some of the darkness..

[Dragon]

John said nothing. He supposed it was possible that Spectre really did care only about Jamie, but he was certain the same couldn't be said for Saladin.

They crossed a two-lane highway and entered the gravel parking lot of an all-night diner with blinding neon signs in the windows. As they approached the glass door, John looked up at the bell tied to the hydraulic arm - hanging next to it on a short ribbon was a pewter fish with feet. He exchanged a glance with Spectre and could tell she recognized the token meaning mutants safe here.

Clearly, he hadn't chosen this town by accident.

He lightly stroked Jamie's back to wake her, then eased her to the sidewalk. "Let's get some breakfast."

[Jamie Morrigan]

In another fifteen minutes they were seated in a booth with plates of pancakes and bacon and eggs and biscuits and cornbread - Jamie had wanted to taste it all.

As she maneuvered her straw to slurp up the last of her chocolate milk, she regarded John and Spectre thoughtfully. She wished she could imagine they were all a family, and they'd be taking her to a house with a bedroom full of books and windows and colors that weren't remotely pastel, but she even she knew that was a fantasy. Feigning sleep had been a handy skill at Jericho.

"So," she said, looking at John, "you come from a big house with lots of mutant kids, and they go to school there and learn about using their powers."

She swirled a piece of pancake through a puddle of syrup and turned toward Spectre. "And where do you come from?"