RolePlayGateway™

Flora was taken aback when she felt Lucas wrap an arm around her waist and press his lips to her forehead. Weird, but her heart started fluttering and her cheeks heated up. And then she remembered their link and panicked; he could probably feel everything that she was right now. Well, hell. Offering him a nervous little wave as he walked away, she quickly turned her attention to Zach who was staring after his dad, little bottom lip quvering slightly. "Hey, now, shh. We have to be brave for daddy and Rosie, don't we, hmm?" She gently stroked the little boy's cheek and carried him over to a seat in the waiting area.

As they sat down, the gorgeous little boy turned his beautiful eyes on her and Flo felt her heart melt. "Are you daddy's girlfriend?"
Oh. Silly, but she felt herself blushing again, as well as the occasional faltering of the heart, which she presumed must be coming from Luke. Trying to hide that from Zach, she stroked his hair gently, letting herself comfort him and him her. "No, I'm just daddy's friend." She smiled slightly, letting the child ask her questions until Lucas reappeared with his daughter.

"Oh, I-er.. Sure." Flo smiled and stood up, Zach falling sleep with his head rested on her shoulder. "Thanks," she glanced at Luke, before offering a little wave to Rosie. She wasn't as sure what to say to the little girl, as she'd obviously been through a bit of a trauma; she didn't want to make things worse for her. So, doing what she thought would be best, she started off towards her car again, trying to hide the confusion of her current feelings towards the boy she shared such a strange bond with.

Flo couldn't help but smile as Rosie waved at her, before moving out to the car. When Luke got into the back, she gently laid Zach on his legs and quietly clicked the door shut behind her, her heart threatening to melt at the lovely scene she could see unwravelling. Once she was in the driver's seat again, she hesitated before twisting the key in the ignition and glanced over her shoulder when Luke spoke. Damn, what did this boy do to her? Feeling a slight blush creep up to her cheeks, Flora focused her attention back on the bushes in front of her Fiat before she answered. "You don't need to repay me. I was hardly going to leave you stranded." Quite honestly, the reply came out a little sharper than she'd intended, so much so, actually that Flo turned to look at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap," she murmured before bringing her car to life. "I'm just not used to.. socialising with you, I guess." And in all honesty she wanted to push him away because she was too scared of her current developing feelings for him.

Without waiting for anything else, Flora tried to pull her car away from the curb with a sigh, only to find that the car next to them had been parked at an angle, leaving no way of getting out without causing it slight damage. "Idiots," she mumbled to herself before bringing a finger up on the steering wheel and pushing it gently in the direction that she wanted the car end to move in. And it did. Sometimes their powers could come in pretty handy... With a small satisfied smile gracing her lips, Flora turned to face Lucas again. "Which way is it to your house?"

Little Rosie's sniffled words caused Flo's heart to drop slightly with guilt and she focused her eyes on the road ahead so as not to let anyone see her reaction, although she knew Luke could probably feel it. She let him comfort her, not saying anything in fear of making it worse, however, when he apologised for the bond that they shared, it quite honestly hurt, although she didn't know why. "I don't want you to be sorry," she frowned, confused by everything that was going on. "I should be the one to apologise, I am sorry for snapping. Everything's ust.. mixed up, you know?" She shook her head slightly as her hands gripped tighter on the wheel. The fact that he said she didn't like him much didn't go missed and she wanted to tell him otherwise, but she just.. couldn't. She hated him right? ..... Right?

Nodding at his directions, Flo drove towards where he'd told her, taking the left when she reached the store. Eventually she drew up outside what she guessed must be his house and killed the engine, leaving the four of them in an uncomfortable silence. "This the right one?" She asked quietly, leaning back wearily on her seat. "You know... It might not be best for me to come inside.. I mean, we don't like one another.. shouldn't we just keep our distance?" She didn't look at him as she said it, the words killing a part of her heart but she honestly believed that would be for the best. He didn't like her.. and she didn't like him.. or rather she did and it scared her to death. Ahh, hell.

When Rosie started to cry, Flora couldn't help but feel bad. She'd messed everything up... again and made things worse than they had to be, all because of a few crossed wires and some major misunderstandings on her part. She'd always had a habit of putting her foot in it and she knew it was just a matter of time before she'd do it again. "I do.. I mean, I don't.. I just, I don't know how I feel okay? I'm sorry, everything's messed up.. and I really didn't mean to upset your daughter. That's the last thing I wanted to do." She shook her head, trying to keep her voice as soft as possible despite the growing hysteria. If there was one thing that she hated more than anything, it was not being in control of her own feelings and as well as having to contend with that, the negativity that was flowing off Lucas because she'd upset his daughter was making her head hurt.

When they stopped, she found that she just really wanted to get back to school and into some kind of normal routine. She hadn't asked for this link, or the stupid gift she had and being only 17 and having to contend with everything was hard at the best of times. She didn't know how Lucas did it, but then she supposed he'd been through worse and was better at coping than she was. At his words, she blinked.. Had he said that? Or had she just jumped to that conclusion? Yeah, she'd defnately jumped, right into icy cold waters according to her feelings right now. "I just thought.. I-I mean.. You.. You don't like me though, right? From that first day, you tried it on and I refused, yeah? So I just, I thought you'd hate me for not being like all the other girls who went along with you.."

Flora just nodded; she definately knew what he meant, having been an overly sensitive little girl herself. But then, when she'd been upset there hadn't been parents around to comfort her. Trying not to dwell on these thoughts too much, she tried to hide the little zap of shock that ran through her. "B-but, but I just thought you were trying it on 'cause.. well, you know, you were after one thing you know? I asked a couple of other girls about you before I made up my mind and they said.. well, they said that you liked one night stands and such. To mess with their hearts and then throw them away when you'd finished, I, I didn't want to have that done to me." Flo made sure that she lowered her voice on the right parts of the conversation so that his children wouldn't hear.

"I know, there's more to it than that now, but back then.. There wasn't any evidence to prove them wrong. I mean, why do you sleep with so many girls?" She turned to face him then, studying his face and double checking that Rosie and Zach didn't catch onto what she was saying. The last thing Flo wanted to do was put her foot in it again.

Flo watched him as he seemed to struggle with finishing his sentence and felt guilty for bringing it up. She could feel that it was something he rarely spoke about and probably something that he wasn't best proud of, but as well as that she could feel the truth in his words and feel it in his eyes when he looked at her. And despite everything she felt sorry for him and found herself wanting to comfort him, wanting to give him that part of his life that was missing. But she tried to cover it, knowing that despite everything it wasn't her place unless he wanted it to be.

"It's not stupid," she murmured and leant back into her seat, tearing herself away from his gaze before she might do something she'd regret. "I do understand. You just want to find someone like your children's mother to care for you.. I guess that's what all of us want in a lot of ways. Someone to love us." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, another thought striking her. Even if Lucas did ever decide that he liked her in the same way that she definately liked him, she'd probably always come second best.

"You'll find someone eventually, Lucas, I know you will. There's gotta be someone out there for you.. somewhere." Oh how she already knew that there was, but it couldn't happen right? There were just too many complications involved.. too many things that could go wrong.. Or was she just trying to make excuses? With a small sigh, Flo rubbed her temple, trying to ease the pounding sensation that was arising there. "Thank you, for explaining, Luke. I, er.. Well, I guess it means a lot to know that you can confide in me." She offered a small smile as she turned to look at him. "But I still think I'm gonna pass on the offer of coffee, I have a migraine coming on. As you can probably feel."

Flora could feel the hurt coming from Luke's heart and for a second she felt tears stinging in her eyes, tears that she knew weren't coming from her. "Luke.. I-I know you don't want to talk about her.. But I think one day you're going to have to. I can feel what you're keeping inside and it can't be good for you, or your children." She offered him a weak smile, willing her headache to go away so as not to make Lucas feel any worse than she knew he already did.

"And you will find someone that loves them," she murmured softly, her heart sinking at the thought of it. She wanted to be that girl, but she knew she probably never could be. "You're not a hopeless father," Flo said firmly, her bright gaze trained on him. "Anyone can see that. Your children are gorgeous, inside and out and that's down to you, no one else. You've managed this far on your own and it won't be too long until someone.. someone comes along to give you a hand. And... And I'll always be around somewhere to help out where I can," she breathed, closing her eyes.

Flora couldn't help but smile weakly when he said that she felt the pain in her head. "Mm, sorry. I know a headache isn't what you need right now." She watched him shift his daughter and saw the slight worry on is face, which immediately tugged on her heart strings. "It's no trouble. I'll help," she murmured before getting out of her seat and moving around to gently lift Zach off his father's leg. Once the child was settled in her arms she closed the door again and moved around to open the other so that Luke would be able to get out. As she waited, Flo glanced at the little one in her arms, feeling slightly suprised at how normal it felt to have him clutched to her chest.

[[Ohh my. That description of feeling like crap, was pretty freaking awesome! -Applause!- XD]]

Flora listened to him, his pain and anguish radiating into her through their link. She didn't want to talk about Elizabeth because of his feelings and her own. Was it really sick that she should feel jealous of the girl? Or just human? She couldn't decide and quite frankly didn't want to know the answer in case of what it might reveal about herself. As her migraine worsened with these thoughts, she pressed another hand to her head, trying to push the flashing lights away from her vision. "Lucas.." she said softly, trying to meet his gaze. "It won't help Zach and Rosie if you keep bottling everything up, because one day it'll all come out, possibly in front of them. And you won't have any control over it. So we're going to go inside, put your children to sleep and talk about her. Okay?" She meant her voice to sound firm, but it came out about as softly as a baby's cheek, her not having enough energy to put force into her words.

Flora was completely blind to the fact that Luke was talking about her. She'd cut off any hope of him liking her back, which meant that she was sub-consciously ignoring the feelings from him. She'd always come second best and that's what her mind had focused on, causing her to hurt and ultimately burying eveything like he had done with Elizabeth. Her connection with Luke, ran a lot deeper than she could have ever have imagined, only she'd realised it too late. "But who else could it be down to Lucas? You said so yourself, you're one of the only people in their lives, meaning 75% of them must be like they are because of you." Flo kept her gaze trained on him, refusing to look away now in hopes of persuading him to believe what she was saying.

"I'm not going to lie," she murmured, feeling so sorry for him when his voice lowered to a sad whisper. "At first, I did think that you were a complete bastard," she smiled a little before continuing. "But I feel what you feel. I know how you work, I know you. Which means I know that you are anything but a bastard. I.. I.." Don't even say it. Flo's mind told her to quit while she was ahead and she quickly averted her gaze before she gave anything away. "Believe that."

Once they were inside of Lucas's house, Flo's migraine got worse, the sickness following after the pain. Urgh. She tried not to sway too much on her feet as she carried Zach up to the kiddie's bedroom and was thankful when they reached his bed so that she could lay him gently under the covers. "There we go," she whispered and gently stroked his hair. "Night Zach." Flo bent down and gently kissed the little boy's forehead, before blinking in suprise at her own actions. What the hell was she playing at? Trying not to dwell to much on the thoughts that were crossing through her pained mind, Flora moved towards the doorway and leant against the doorframe for support until Lucas had finished. She was preparing herself for a lot of pain to come as she had every intention of making Lucas talk about his demons.

[[Aww, bless you :]]]

"And you want that, do you?" Flora frowned, her blue-green eyes boring into his. "You don't want to be the one to tell your children what a gorgeous, wonderful woman their mother was? You're going to leave it to someone else. Come on, Luke, I know you can't want that. And if we talk about it now, it won't hurt as much. I promise." She said it with such determination that even Flo suprised herself. However, she was giving this one up without a fight, probably due to the stubborness within her and she knew that there was a truth in her words.

"Yeah, but Lucas that isn't really you, is it? They only see the kind, amazing man that I see and it's rubbed off on them." Suddenly realising what she'd said, Flora bit her bottom lip as if to stop any more words from coming out. Her head ached in protest and she closed her eyes for a second, trying to overcome her momentary lapse.

When it passed, she opened them again but kept her gaze focused on the gardens outside. "No, you're not. But you said so yourself you have a reason for being like that.. and besides, I don't think that's really you. It's just something you feel like you have to do right? Lucas, you've proved to me that you aren't like that with the way that you care for your kids. If you were a dickhead, I wouldn't be here with you right now."

Once the kids were in bed, Flo'd face had paled. She never dealt with migraines well, but this was the worse she'd ever had, probably because Like felt like crap to and she could feel that. Damn link. "Oh, thanks," she smiled softly, using the door frame for support. "Are you trying to get me into your bed?" Flo teased, trying to lighten the mood a little bit by following the comment with a weak laugh. Although, she realised a little after that it might not have been the best thing to say. "Sorry... that was insensitive. I think I'll take up your offer though. If I don't lie down I think I may fall down," she murmured, meeting his gaze.

"Mhm, which is why we have to talk about her today. Once you get over that hurdle, it'll become easier and you will be able to talk about Elizabeth. Do you want your kids to grow up without knowing who she really was?" She asked softly, wishing she could comfort him. "Well, Lucas, if it's gonna kill you then remember it'll kill me too, so we can do it together, yeah?" She offered him a weak smile, trying her best to ease the irritation her head was causing her; for him.

Flora felt her cheeks warming up when he repeated her words. "Yeah... Yeah, I do," she answered quietly, cursing herself for putting them into an awkward situation. "You know it's true.. You can feel that I mean it," she countered, willing all of her belief through the words. Flo took a moment to think before she answered, it seemed whatever she said he batted off because he had such a low opinion of himself and it hurt her to know he was thinking of himself like that. "Luke I do like you. I.. Well, I know you're not the person that you are at school. That's just an act, it isn't you." She chewed her her bottom lip, wishing she could tell him how she really felt. But she just couldn't.

Glad that he'd taken what she said the right way, Flo smiled. "I bet that's what you say every time," she shook her head lightly, suddenling hit by a dizzy spell. "Ohh, not good," she groaned, thankful when she felt a strong arm around her waist for support. Even if it did send her heart into overdrive. "You have a.. really lovely place here, you know?" She murmured against his neck as she leant her head absently onto his shoulder. The scent of him gave her goosebumps, but she was only doing it to ease the pain right? When they reached the bed, she reluctantly pulled out of his grasp and scooted up on the mattress, her brown curls splayed out onto the white pillows. "I'm really sorry you have to do this," Flora glanced at him as she massaged her temples. "It's the last thing you needed."