New York City

Lauri's morning started out like any other, with a tall glass of orange juice with a piece of cinnamon toast and then a small cup of coffee just before leaving the house. She naturally took the longest to be ready to leave. Since she owned so many clothes, it was hard for her to pick which ones she wanted to wear. Finally she settled with her blue jacket, shorts, tights, and a pair of black boots that kept her feet warm. Satisfied with her outfit, she finally joined the others downstairs just before they left.

On patrol, she slightly trailed behind Derek and Rain, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets and not really focusing on what she was supposed to be doing. Hearing that they'd have Christmas day off really got her excited. One of her favorite things to do was shop, especially for others. Of course she'd end up getting them all some kind of clothing, but she found it most exciting to shop for Jasper and Rain, since she had a better feel on what to buy a girl. Just before she was about to suggest that they do some Christmas shopping, she heard Ron's voice speak into her earphone and she stopped walking.

"T....This is Agent R....I've had a casualty...killed by..m-my strength, I need a clean up crew at 237 frankforth...apartment 37."

Well, that sure wasn't expected.

"What happened, Ron?"

That time it was Arthur's voice telling Ron to head back. It wasn't unusual for the Italian to sound so perfectly calm despite the current situation. He just had a knack for seriousness.

"Ron, do you need me to go over?"

She looked forward where Rain was, the healer taking her turn to speak through the radio. The atmosphere was tense for a moment, and Lauri took this opportunity to throw herself in. She put a big smile on her face and stepped forward, throwing her right arm over Rains shoulder and her left over Dereks. "C'mon kiddies, lets go get some drinks! It's still early but, as the song goes, it's five O'clock somewhere, right?!" She said cheerfully before a sudden realization hit her and she turned her head to Rain. "That's right you're still just nineteen, huh? When are you going to turn twenty one?", She smirked before finishing her last sentence, "I wanna see what kind of drunk you are. I bet you're the cutesy/shy type, or maybe the flirty type?" She let out a small chuckle before lifting her arms from both of their shoulders and taking the lead and putting her hands back into her pockets. "Let's do some Christmas shopping!" She said, slightly turning her head to look back at them.

For now, she just wanted to get the subject away from Ron's accident. It had been a really long time since he'd last had one, so Lauri guessed the boy was taking this one pretty hard. Having a bunch of people crowd around and ask questions probably wouldn't be the best treatment. "Hurry it up!"

Derek looked off into space thinking about Ron... wow. It's been too long since something like this happened... "Ron, do you need me to go over?" He heard, but it didn't register in Derek's head. He had his thoughts focused on Ron. With all this focus, he was quite startled when Lauri wrapped her arm around him. The touching... the touching was always a problem.
"C'mon kiddies, lets go get some drinks! It's still early but, as the song goes, it's five O'clock somewhere, right?!" The girl paused. "That's right you're still just nineteen, huh? When are you going to turn twenty one? I wanna see what kind of drunk you are. I bet you're the cutesy/shy type, or maybe the flirty type?"
Derek pushed Lauri away. "I uh-"
"Hurry it up!" Lauri chimed. Derek looked at her with his ever serious expression and said, "I don't drink." Derek was just really sensitive to alcohol. One sip, and he'd be totally wasted.

---

Jason smiled hearing Ria's thought in his head. The fact that it was just in his head made him feel better. He turned his thoughts back to Van. He said they had to spy on the heroes.... could he do that? Of course. He had to. It was for a better world. He looked up at Van with a determined composure. "Just tell me when to go."

Jason felt like he needed to prove himself to Van. He got the feeling that his boss didn't think to highly of him. Jason needed to become his right hand man. This was a new start for him to be more than just Jason.

"T....This is Agent R....I've had a casualty...killed by..m-my strength, I need a clean up crew at 237 frankforth...apartment 37."

One second Jasper was with her friend, ready to go Christmas shopping, the next she felt as if she was falling. The edges of her vision went black and her fingers struggled to grab hold of Arthur's shoulder to keep her up. This hadn't happened to Ron in so long. He was going to be devastated. She remembered back to when they first met and he had accidentally broken her hand shaking it. His goofy little kid smile turned to devastation and he turned and ran away. She hadn't seen him until months later and even after they became close friends, he was too scared to touch her for the longest time. The first time Ron actually hugged Jasper was when he saw her dad come home drunk and poured scalding hot coffee over her.

"Daddy?" "H-h-hold on Caroline, how about you show me your room, daddy is relaxing." She nodded and grabbed Ron's hand, pulling him down the hall. "M-make it a...sensitive clean up."

She clutched Arthur's shoulder tightly, volts of electricity spider webbing all around her body. He didn't seem to hear the last part of Ron's comm before it got shut off, but Jasper sure heard it. There was a child involved.

"You can head back too and I'll go over your route as well. I'm sure Ron would probably prefer having you around rather than any of us or the other agents."

Arthur's voice brought her back. She snapped out of it, and though still in a daze, she nodded at him and released her grip. "Thank you." She muttered before running as fast as her legs (still zapping with fine threads of electricity) could take her to 237 Frankfourth, apartment 37.



Jasper didn't even bother knocking. She was still sparking when she reached the door of apartment 37, and when she touched the metal knob, instead of shocking her, it did something to the mechanisms inside of the lock and the door swung right open without a fight.

Berkman looked up when she stepped in, but didn't say anything. He simply nodded towards a corner and her eyes followed to a dark figure huddling up, almost invisible. The electricity from her body shut off like a switch and she just stood there.

Slowly and silently, Jasper made her way to Ron and sat down next to him, waiting for him to say something, giving him time.

"She will go to a home for now, we will find a good home for her Ron, I swear on my life I will personally get that girl a family that will love her and care for her as much as possible. Ron just sat there, staring off into space, looking at the floor as he was lost in his thoughts. Caroline's voice kept ringing in his head. "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?" Her sweet voice rang like she was right there next to him. He fought back tears as Jasper came into the room. He didn't change his line of sight or move from his seat. She sat next to him, Ron made sure that none of him was touching her. "I....I killed someone, he was a good man to, just getting a bear for little Caroline, Caroline." His eyes were welding with water but he refused to let them out. He had mess ups before, crushed a hand, put someone in the the hospital, but never killed, and a innocent man. Ron lifted his head and looked at Jasper, a happy man now torn down to that cautious little boy that wouldn't touch anyone. "How long.... How long have I been losing it, how long have I been hurting you and everyone?" He got mad that she didn't answer right away, he was a wreak. "How long!?!" He said more sternly, demanding a answer. He looked back at the floor as she talked, he thought he felt her touched him and at the first slight of touch he jumped up. "No! Don't touch me! I might put you in a comma, or, or." He stood, the water finally escaping his eyes. "Just leave me alone." He said as he went to the door, hitting the frame with his shoulder, it accidently ripping it off.

Ron left the apartment and went off the grid for a while, ditching his phone and radio so no one could follow him, he didn't want to be around anyone right now. Hours went by and Ron walked the city, it was now real late at night, 1 in the morning maybe. After getting himself together a little, he walked back to the complex and came in the kitchen, making sure not to wake up anyone and leaving the lights off. He opened the fridge and saw a six pack in the fridge, probably Lauri's. He pulled it out and popped one open, standing at the counter. I was about two in the morning now and only a beer left. Ron kept looking at the home phone on the wall and back to his beer. After about 10 minutes of contemplation, he got up and picked up the phone. "Hello? Berkman? I know, I know, I'm sorry... yea... drunk?" Ron looked back to the lonely beer. "No I'm fine..look I need you to do something for me...yea...well actually....I am serious...Berkman, please....Thank you, yea I'll pick it up Christmas eve."

Ron hung up the phone and looked at the calender next to it, it was 3 days till christmas eve, including today since it was 2 in the morning. Ron stood at the counter and finished the last beer. He then took his finger and pushed down on the top of the can, demolishing the tall boy under the pinkies strength. He look disgusted but then looked back at the calender. "3 days....."

Jasper waited patiently. She knew how to handle Ron when he was down, just like he knew how to handle her. She sat, staring into her lap until his voice caused her to look up at him. He looked scared, the face of the little boy who accidentally broke his new best friend's hand: probably 15 years ago. It seemed so far away.

"I....I killed someone, he was a good man to, just getting a bear for little Caroline, Caroline." He looked up at her with that sad face, "How long.... How long have I been losing it, how long have I been hurting you and everyone?" She didn't know what to say and simply looked into her friend's eyes pleadingly, hoping he'd understand. He didn't, however, his face seemingly clouded by grief and rage. "How long?!" He exploded.

Shocked, Jasper jumped a bit. Anger didn't look good on Ron, she wasn't used to it. She was usually the one yelling, not the other way around, and she didn't like being on the other end of it at all. Slowly, she took a shuddering breath, "Ron, you know you've never hurt anyone, and you don't loose it. Honestly, this is the only time you've ever been like this and... I don't like it. You've only ever helped all of us at the mansion...especially me. You helped me with my d-" She reached over and gingerly attempted to touch his arm, trying to comfort him in the only way she knew how. It obviously didn't help, in fact, it did quite the opposite.

"No! Don't touch me! I might put you in a comma, or, or...Just leave me alone." He was up and out before Jasper could stop him. She walked over to the door that now hung in shambles, shaking but otherwise looking bored; a facade that she had learned to put up when she was truly hurt. She knelt down and prodded at the rubbish, finally realizing how strong her friend really was, it never struck her since he was always so gentle.

Lost in her own world, Jasper jumped sky high when Berkman placed his hand on her shoulder. However, he quickly removed it as (quite literally) a jolt from her surprise shot up his arm. She didn't bother apologizing. "Do you want me to drive you back to HQ?" He asked, rubbing his arm.

She stood up and straightened her back, looking out the door. "No, I need to go find Arthur and help him finish patrolling."

"I think you've all had enough patrolling for one day." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Jasper shook her head stubbornly and stepped over the wreckage, "nah, the two of us were going to go Christmas shopping."

"Jasper don't do this." He argued, but it fell on deaf ears, Jasper was already gone.


She tried calling Ron multiple times on her way to find Arthur, but after 4 miss dials from her shaking fingers, 2 phone short-circuits, and 5 voice mails, she gave up. She shouted, suddenly frustrated at herself and Ron, and the phone exploded in her hand.

"Just bloody great." The purple haired girl muttered, rubbing her newly burnt fingertips. She then decided to find a payphone and she dialed up Arthur. After finding out where he was, she quickly made her way there and found him. Upon sight of the red haired boy, Jasper began shaking ferociously, tears threatening to spill down her flushed cheeks. Emotional outbursts were hard to come by with her, but she was also never yelled at by Ron before, and therefore she felt incredibly torn.

Without thinking, she ran over to the Italian and buried her face in his chest. "C-can we g-g-go shopping now?" She hissed, crying and also angry because she was crying.

He had to admit, going on patrol alone was one of the most boring things Arthur had ever done, not to mention difficult. Doing this with the others made it much less important for him to pay attention to everything, but now he had to keep his eye on anything that might look suspicious and that caused a bit of a slight throb in his temples. He'd first finished his own patrol, then Jaspers, and was about half way through Ron's when he finally decided to stop and take a breather and close his eyes for a bit. There hadn't been any news from Ron or Jasper for a few hours now, and he was starting to get a little anxious. Though, he was mostly worried about what the higher-ups would think of Ron's accident once they found out. They were already being threatened to be shut down, but so far had done a wonderful job at keeping up with the demands, but with Ron's accident..it could really leave a bad impression.

"M-make it a...sensitive clean up."

He let out a sigh. Whoever Ron accidentally killed was an innocent person, which just made things worse. Alright, enough of that, he thought to himself, bringing up his hand and lightly smacking his cheek as he opened his eyes again. He put his hand back into his jacket pocket and turned around on the sidewalk, ready to continue patrolling when Jasper suddenly latched onto him and buried her face into his chest. That was one of the last things he was expecting to happen and he was quite surprised at first, but quickly became concerned for her when he felt something wet soak through his sweater. Jasper was actually crying?

"C-can we g-g-go shopping now?"

Arthur hesitated a moment, even more concerned now that he heard the shakiness in her voice. What happened to the stubborn, strong Jasper? The only reason he could think of for why she'd get like this was if Ron did something to upset her. Arthur knew the guy would be in a shocked state right now, but to take it out on Jasper. That idiot..

Finally he was able to give her an understanding smile and he lightly hugged her. "Definitely. You've got to help me pick out a present for Ron, after all." He said before bringing his hand up to his ear. "Hey, guys, Jasper and I are going to go Christmas shopping, you might as well too. I think we've done enough patrolling for the day."

-----

They didn't spend a lot of time shopping, let alone talking, but Arthur kept up his happy act the entire time despite that. He was still furious with Ron for causing Jasper to fall into such an emotional sate, and he'd get an ear full from him the next time he'd see the guy. For now though, he tried to keep the mood as light and positive as he could, every now and then trying to reassure Jasper that Ron would be alright after h got some alone time. In the end he managed to get a gift for Ron, with the help of Jasper of course, and one for Lauri as well, though he still needed to find something for Rain and Derek.

When they got home Arthur would've cooked something up, but since he'd used up a lot of space in his brain and a head ache was already bothering him an hour before, they just brought home Chinese and he quickly headed up to his room, telling Jasper that she should get some sleep in the process. Once he was alone, his happy act quickly dropped and he found himself feeling rather frustrated that Ron still hadn't been home yet and they weren't able to get a hold of him either. If his head wasn't throbbing so horribly he probably would've waited up for him, but instead he quickly changed into boxers and a t-shirt and it didn't take long at all for him to fall asleep, tucking away Ron and Lauri's gifts before he did so.

Rain jumped when Lauri suddenly slung her arms around Rain's shoulders. Still slightly dazed, she listened as Lauri babbled on and on about drinking. Finally, when Lauri mentioned Christmas shopping, Rain came back to her senses. "Well, I already bought everything, so I don't really need to shop..." she said quietly, wondering how Lauri could be so happy when a death had just occurred.

Still, she managed to keep her wits about her, following Lauri and Derek around the mall. Luckily, her shopping was already finished, so not much input was expected from her. Finally, the three of them returned home. Without another word, Rain trudged to her bedroom and was sprawled on her bed without even changing. She'd think of a way to comfort Ron later, but for now, it was time to let the day's events be lost in dream.

After a while, Jasper had calmed down and was back into the emotionless mask that she had put on for Berkman back at apartment 37. She stayed quiet as her and Arthur wandered up and down the streets and through stores, her hands stuffed in her pockets and her jaw clenched with pent up emotion. She just followed Arthur's lead and helped him pick out a gift for Ron.

Near the end of the trip, she began feeling better, a combination of the Italian's therapeutic smiles and the fact that she finally had gifts for everyone. One less thing for Jasper to stress over. They entered a fancy looking clothing store and she separated herself from her friend to find something for Rain. She loved to see Rain in the color pink, and quickly found a nice sundress (on clearance because of the fact that it was winter), and an outfit that was more or less made for comfort. When she was contempt with what she got for rain, she met back with Arthur and went to buy Derek a gift card for an expensive resturaunt, Ron a fuzzy frog hat that matched her own panda one, Lauri a new deep blue and white starburst electric guitar. However, Jasper was at a loss for what to get Arthur. She decided to ask him what he wanted later, too tired to do any more shopping.


Once they were home, Jasper took her Chinese muttered a goodnight to Arthur before he went up to his room. She didn't listen to his suggestion to go to bed, and instead shuffled her way into the living room, removing her scarf, jacket, and boots on her way and leaving them on the floor in her path. Jasper sat down on the couch and crossed her legs before turning the tv on and half listening to a horror movie that was on while eating. As some point her lizard, Booze, made his way on top of her heat and curled up in her hair. Once her food was gone, it didn't take long until she began falling asleep as well. She placed the take out container on the floor and lay down on the couch, giving into sleep just as the main protagonist of the movie was about to be sawed in half.

Ron looked at the calender and the can for a good 30 minutes, he pushed off the counter, leaving cracked imprints in the marble from his fingers. He stumbled out of the kitchen and was about to go down the hall when he saw the trail of things to the living room. He followed the trail to see a sleeping jasper on the couch. Ron tried to sit down next to the couch but really he just fell as quiet as possible. "Uh Shh hshssshhhh..." He said looking over at Booze. "Damn loud reptile..." He said as he put his hands on his face, trying to wipe away how tired he was. He looked at Jasper and wanted to shake her awake, knowing he would get yelled at and a good thunder slap to his cheek. His hand hovered over her but he quickly took it away. "I...I don't want to hurt you Jas... I know now that you haven't been telling me that it hurts." He looked at his hand and pinched himself, to his skin it was a normal pinch but he couldn't imagine what something like that would do to someone. "I hurt everyone, I thought I had it under control. I fixed the problem of today though, Caroline will be in a good home." He nodded and looked down into his lap, the emotions and beer starting to mix. "I'm just not going to touch anyone, that ought to be fine right? I don't need to be with Rain, I probably would have just hurt her anyways, she can find someone better than me I'm sure. You don't have to hang around with me either, why would you want to be around someone who hurts you if he looks the wrong way." Ron didn't look up, he didn't want to see her face, even if she was sleeping. He was so, afraid, he was horrified of what he was, he was scared of loosing his friends. He put his hand on the cushion near her face and moved himself until he had laid down next to the couch. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later he had gotten up real quick to go puke, it had been a long time since he had drank. He threw up a few times in the bathroom, flushing it down. He came back out into the hallway, dragging his hand along the way to keep him from falling. He saw the alarm modual on the wall and opened it up. "Please present passcode." Ron rubbed his head as he tried to think but the machine kept repeating itself. Ron finally punched the wall remote, knocking it out and ripping the wires to the system. Supprisingly the alarms didn't go off, "I told them the alarm was to damn loud..." He said with a straight face as he walked back to the kitchen, taking the coffee pot, no doubt fresh maid from the housekeeper. He poured a cup, black, and was about to drink it when he noticed the finger prints he made in the marble. "ughhhh.... I can't touch a damn thing." Thankfully his cup was made out of thick steel so his pinkie wasn't going to destroy it. He sat at the table, not bothering with the news this morning.

Rain tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep a wink. She couldn't stop thinking about Ron, how distraught he had seemed when he had reported the death. Finally, she gave up, lying on her side and staring out the window at the twinkling stars. How ironic. Yesterday night I was desperate to get out of sleep. Today, I'd give anything to sleep for a couple of hours.

In the early hours of the morning, Rain got up, figuring that there was no need to lie there anymore. She put on a turtleneck sweater and jeans, and went downstairs.

The kitchen was in darkness. Rain flicked the switch, only to see a figure sitting at the counter. She shrieked softly and jumped backwards, then realised that it was Ron. "Ron..." she said quietly, stepping forward. She carefully put a small hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort without words.

Ron sipped at the coffee, nursing it as he stared off into nothing, leting his jumbled head try to put itself together. He looked up a little at the shriek to see rain. She looked so pretty, and with simpathy filled eyes she went to see if he was ok. Her hand touching his shoulder, now usually, Ron would love the sympathetic touch of someone, especially Jasper or Rain. But now that he realized how much his power was out of control, he didn't want to be touched, well he did but he didn't want them to because he was afraid of his strength. What if his muscle twitched or something like that and tore her hand off. He slowly moved out of her hand, turning to look at her after. "Im sorry.... I just don't want any of you to touch me. Im out of control....I might accidentally break your spine some how or..." He stopped and set down at the same seat. He wanted a hug so bad, but he kept telling himself he couldn't, never wanting to hurt rain in his life. "Would you like some coffee?" He asked as he sipped at his own sadly.

Rain reached out a hand, then thought better of it and pulled away. "Yes, thank you," she replied quietly, wondering what she should do. Obviously Ron didn't want to touch her, but Rain had never been good with words.

Cradling her coffee in her hands, Rain watched Ron over the steam issuing from the cup. The feeling of helplessness she had grew stronger and stronger, until she couldn't stand it gnawing at her any more.

Pushing away her chair, Rain got up and rushed towards Ron, wrapping her arms around him before she even knew what she was doing. "Please don't be like this," she cried. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Don't touch me anymore if you must, but I can't stand seeing you like this. I don't care if you hurt me, I just want you to remain unhurt! I'd give up my life for you, if only you would be happy and safe!"

There. She'd said it all, confessed her feelings for him. Her only hope was that he wouldn't hate her; she didn't think she could take that.

Ron kept looking off into nothing, his coffee mug sitting inside of his cupped hands. He didn't want to be like this, he didn't want to be all sad and he wanted to be able to touch someone again. He glanced over at Rain when she sat back down, he felt horrible being like this to her. She was the only person, in his whole life, that he had actual relationship feelings for. Now when she came up and tried to comfort him, he pulled away like he couldn't stand to be touched by her.

All of a sudden she was wrapped as far as her little arms could go around him. Pouring her heart out onto his, telling him every word that he wanted to hear for the past few years. It felt so good, it almost made him forget about yesterday, but it didn't, because he was still afraid of hurting her. As she cried on his chest, he brought his right hand up to her face. As gently as he could, he moved her chin up to where she was looking him in the eye. With the same hand, shaky hand, he moved it up and whipped her wet cheek with his thumb. "Don't cry....please...." he attempted to move his arms around to her back and give her a hug. They were so close but they very lightly touched her back, hovering there, him terrified that he would crush her. "I want to touch you Rain..I want to so bad but, I don't want to hurt you... I killed a man with my finger yesterday. What if my hug is to strong and hurts your back..." He paused and look into her hurt eyes with is. "I want to kiss you....I want to be with you Rain, I always have. But if I ever hurt you, I don't..." He just shook his head as he looked down. He wanted this so bad and it was being dangled by a thread, but he couldn't touch it.

Arthur's dark camellia eyes slowly opened and he found himself staring at the barely-lit ceiling of his room. He lay still for about a half hour before finally letting out a sigh and forcing himself out of bed. He had been waiting for the alarm to go off before he got up, but for some reason he felt like it was taking too long. Turning, he noticed the clock on his nightstand showed that it was fifteen minutes pass the time the alarm was supposed to sound, which surprised him quite a bit. Maybe they really did turn it off after Ron asked them again. Arthur narrowed his eyes and moved them onto the carpet flooring for a few moments. He just hoped Ron cam back some time last night and didn't go off and do something stupid.

He spent a little more time getting dressed, putting on a white, v-neck T-shirt with a dark brown suit jacket, keeping it unbuttoned of course, along with a pair of black slacks. After that he brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and slipped on a pair of dark blue socks before splashing his face with some cold water and heading downstairs.

"I don't want to hurt you... I killed a man with my finger yesterday. What if my hug is to strong and hurts your back..." Ron stopped for a moment as he reached the bottom of the stairs as he heard Ron's voice, somewhat relieved and yet he still felt angry with him.

He continued down with his hands stuck in the pockets of his jacket and turned the corner to see Ron's back turned to him with Rain's arms wrapped around him. He hesitated a moment before casually lifting his foot and planting it in the middle of Ron's back, giving him a good kick, clearly interrupting the moment the two were just having. It most likely didn't do anything at all, but it made Arthur feel a little better and Ron would hopefully get the message. "Where the heck were you last night?" He asked, passing him and then moving over the the cabinets above the coffee maker. "You're an idiot, disappearing like that and tossing out your earpiece so we couldn't track you." He continued on, pulling down a box of cinnamon toast cereal and setting it on the counter before grabbing for a bowl and pouring the box. "Did you even think about how that could make you look to the higher-ups?" He opened the refrigerator as he spoke and grabbed the milk, glancing over at him with a piercing gaze as he poured the liquid into his bowl. "And Jasper was worried sick about you."

He twisted the lid back onto the milk and shut it in the refrigerator before straightening up and facing Ron. "Quit acting like you're the only one who has problems, you're being selfish and not to mention childish. How do you think your emotional crash is making the rest of us feel? We're your friends, and the last time I checked friends are supposed to help each other. You're making that a bit difficult." Finally he got himself a spoon and picked up his bowl, ready to take it to the floor below and find himself a table to sit alone. "Now go take a shower or something. I'd rather not share a house with someone who smells like alcohol and sweat." He said, then looking over at Rain and giving her a smile. "Oh sorry, good morning to you, Rain, excuse me." He said before turning to leave, though he stopped as he passed Ron. "I hope you're going to go apologize to Jasper after this."

"Never. You'll never hurt me. I know it." The tears let up slightly, and Rain managed to gulp out those remaining words. Her hand rubbed small, comforting circles on Ron's back, trying to convey what all the words in the world couldn't possibly say.

Ron jerked forward a little, startling Rain. She glanced up over his shoulder and caught sight of Arthur. Somewhat embarrassed at being caught like that, she pulled backward, quickly wiping her cheeks. She knelt on the floor for a moment while Arthur berated Ron, trying regain her composure.

Finally, Arthur stopped. He smiled at Rain and greeted her. "Good morning," she replied. A slight blush crept up her cheeks, heating her already tear-stained face. Hoping it wasn't too awkward, she smiled tentatively at Ron.

Ron closed his eyes and smiled as Rain pull'd him in close and lightly rubbed on his back. It was so nice, after all these years, finally. He very cautiously put his arms on her back, not wanting to apply much force, if any. As he felt so happy, he realized how big of a dick he was to Jasper yesterday, and how much he probably hurt her. He couldn't remember a time when he had yelled at her, now he felt like shit in this great moment, and it wasn't stopping there. Ron got kicked in the back and while that wasn't very effective to him, he still felt it, which made him tense up a little, which could have hurt Rain. He let go of Rain and turned around, ready to make sure whoever was touching him knew just what he could do. When he saw Arthur, he stopped, still a stern look on his face but nothing else. He listened to the beating he was dishing out onto him as he got his small breakfest together, like he was chatting small talk.

"You think I was being Selfish?! You think I was being SELFISH?!? How dare you call me selfish! Acting like you have problems like this, I killed a innocent man, and then had to tell his six year old daughter that everything was ok, that here daddy was just relaxing, then watch her get hauled off to some home where anyone and there brother could screw her up! You can go screw yourself you little Italian prick because you have no clue what it's like, to go through what I did, and know that you might have just FUCKED EVERYTHING UP for your friends, your family, and someone you love. I have put everything on the line for this team, staying up for days at time, going out on 24 hour patrols by myself so you all could go enjoy yourself for a day and you want to call me selfish!? How about you go try to get with my sister over there, and relax with her by the fire on christmas day, while I go cover for you!"

But he said none of that, his brain sure did but he didn't. After the barrage of insults at him he just nodded a little. "...You're right..I'm sorry, and I will make it up to Jas, I promise.." He looked at Arthur until he left for the downstairs dinning room. Ron turned back to Rain and saw her smile, he gave her one back and hugged her, more like a normal hug this time, and it felt so good. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cut this short. I have to go apoligize to someone." He said as he let go of her and walked out into the living room. Ron looked down at the still sleeping Jas and sat down where he had slept. He picked up Booze and put him on the table behind him, not wanting the lizard to get caught in the cross fire of what might happen next. "whew....Jas...Jas wake up." He said with a very light shake to her shoulder.

"Just tell me when to go", was the statement that made Ria smile and prove that her work was done for now. He also didn't seem to be shaking as much and looked like a fighter again. Excellent! Ria truly knew how to work her magic indeed. Jason seemed ready to go and with his confirmation, she saw Van's smile and then a nod to her after her mental transaction, "I'll be in my office, if you need me", as Van left her and Jason all alone.

Ria weaved her arm into his and pulled him towards her, as their eyes watched Van leave till he disappeared out of sight. "It'll be alright. You get some rest and pump up those dear muscles of yours", tapping on where his muscles were, "We'll be leaving this afternoon, and need you to watch my back as I watch yours", smiling ever so sweetly before letting go. "If you need me, call me", imitating a phone impression with her fingers near her ear before she left him.

Once she was out of sight, she then headed to Van's room, where she opened the door and saw him laying down on his coach. She smiled, as she then silently approached him and knelt beside where he was as she then said silently, "Enjoying yourself I see?", seeing a smile on his face as her hand reached out to his face and partitioned his purple hair so it wasn't in his face. There, that was better! "So...about this afternoon....we going straight to their Headquarters then? or do you require, a distraction to get them out there for you to pop your nose in", smirking.

Jason smiled at Ria, his face a little red, but he was pumped upmfor the mission. Jason gave Ria a lazy wave as he watched her go. He turned on his heals and headed off towards is room. As he got inside, he took out his phone and stared at his sister's number. Its been almost a year. But Ajson knew he as doing the right thing. So he took the phone and dropped on the ground, only to stomp on it, breaking it. He needed to forget his sister if he was going to do this right.

The morning came a little later than usual for some reason, as if the alarm never actually went off. When Lauri realized that she'd slept in an hour pass the time the alarm would've originally gone off, she was pretty surprised. Even though she did always use her power to turn it off the moment it came on, she'd never slept any later than a few minutes afterwards. This time she was never even woken up. She sat at the foot of her bed and spent about twenty minutes brushing through her hair before putting it back up into a piggy tail and tying a dark blue ribbon around it as she went over the events of the day before. She'd gone shopping with Derek and Rain and managed to buy Arhur, Ron, and Jasper each a gift along with buying herself a few new pieces of jewelry. She'd already wrapped up the gifts and slid them under her bed before she ate and went to sleep. As far as she knew Ron still hadn't come home yet, so she hoped he'd be back this morning.

As usual, she went downstairs in her PJ's, a small spaghetti-strapped, light blue top and equally small matching shorts with pink lining. Once she got downstairs, she entered the kitchen and stopped to wave to Rain as she opened the refrigerator. "Good morning!" She said with a smile as she peered into the fridge, only to have her smile instantly vanish. She wasn't exactly planning on drinking in the morning, but that didn't mean she didn't check to make sure her afternoon beverage wasn't there. The entire thing was gone! "W-who....grr" She straightened up, clutching the handle of the refrigerator tightly as she lightly slammed it. Arthur doesn't even like the smell of beer, Rain was under age, Derek doesn't drink, Lauri definitely didn't drink it all. The only two who could've possibly stolen it would be Jasper or Ron, and what better therapy was there after accidentally killing someone? She turned away from Rain without another word and was about to yell for Ron as she left the kitchen when she spotted him in the living room. She stopped abruptly when she figured out he was trying to wake up the sleeping Jasper and her eyes softened. Maybe she'd let things settle a little before killing him.

She turned around and decided to go the opposite direction. She was able to catch a glance of Arthur going downstairs so she followed him and found him eating his breakfast at one of the tables below. Putting on a pouting face, she walked up behind him and threw her arms around his neck, dropping to her knees behind the chair and practically hanging off of him as she pressed her cheek against the left side of his head. "Arrrthuurrrr....Ron stole my beeeeerrr..go buy me some, go buy me some, go buy me soommeee!" She begged playfully, though she was being a little serious as well. "Please, please...I'm too tired..go buy me some!" She continued, slightly shaking her arms.

Jasper had awaken when Rain had come down. She listened curiously as her best friend and his long time crush talked and talked and she could practically feel the raging hormones as they slowly became more than friends. She was actually surprised, she hadn't expected them to get together so quickly. She was happy for him, but also a bit jealous of Rain. It wasn't that she liked Ron, they were like siblings, but she did like having Ron's attention. He was the only person that ever seemed to care enough to get to know her, he accepted her flaws and helped her when her dad started drinking and abusing her. He knew more about her than she did, and while she wasn't going to admit it, Jasper wasn't sure she was ready to share him with anyone. She realized how much attention he'd give Rain when they got together, and Jasper was simply afraid of being forgotten, left behind, becoming a third wheel. Her fists clenched unconsciously and small sparks erupted from her fingertips. However, when Arthur entered the room, she quickly attempted to calm down and go limp, in case he noticed her laying there. He seemed preoccupied with yelling at Ron, so she peeked open an eye and listened to what he said. On one hand, Jasper wanted to hop up and defend her friend; but on the other, the shock from last night was gone, replaced by anger towards how he had treated her, and she agreed with most of what Arthur was saying.

Once Arthur left, she heard a quiet exchange between Rain and Ron, they were no doubt hugging and being mushy she thought bitterly. She was jealous and angry that he let Rain hug him when he didn't even let Jasper touch him yesterday. She heard him stand up and begin walking towards the living room and quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep again. She felt Booze get swept off of her head and then Ron's hand on her shoulder, carefully trying to wake her up.

"whew....Jas...Jas wake up."

She stayed quiet for a bit, afraid that she would be too exhausted to argue with him, she wanted to yell at him so badly. However, he persisted and she gave up, grabbing his arm and sent a shock, fueled by her frustration, up his arm. It was one with enough power to knock grown man unconscious, but to Ron it would just hurt a lot.

"It'll take a lot more than that to wake me up, Champ." She muttered irritably, rolling onto her side and glaring at him with her violet eyes. "What do you want?"

"GHNHGGHH...." He muttered as the bolt of lightning strung up his body and he quickly took his hand off Jasper's shoulder, his eyes popping a little as he tried to keep his straight face. "I....fuck...I deserve that." He said as he sat back letting his muscles calm down. He sat their for a minute looking like a kid who lost his parents at a amusment park. Not sure what to do, not sure how to start. "Jas...yesterday, I'm so sorry. I mean, yelling and..." He looked away from her, he couldn't look at her. He loved Jasper, she was equal, maybe more to him than Rain, but if so only because of everything they been through. After he crushed her hand as kids, he swore to himself that he would never, never hurt her ever again, and anyone that hurt her would answer to the strongest man on earth. Yet, he broke it, he yelled at her, he saw the fear in her eyes yesterday and when it happened, he didn't even notice it. Most of the day he while he was out and about was him trying to figure how to face her mostly. He could deal with the others, he thought they would understand where he was coming from. But yelling at Jas, he never thought he would do that in his whole life.

"Jasper...I...I don't know what to say.. There is no excuse for me yesterday. Killing a man or a thousand, I never want to hurt you. I was out there most of yesterday trying to think how I could ever talk to you again, after...hurting you like..." Ron was looking into his lap, trying not to make eye contact. To his team, he was the leader, he was suppose to be up beat, anyone could come to him, he was suppose to be the strongest man there was. But in front of Jasper, when it was just them two, he was that little boy again. He was getting trying to catch his breath as the tears feel down his cheeks, trying with all he could to hold them back for her, to stay strong for her. "..I love you Jasper...I-I-I swore I wouldn't hurt you and I did...p-please don't be mad at me Jas..please." He said still not making eye contact, his shaky arms rose slowly, fully extended towards her, begging for a hug, for him to feel her love, the only thing that got him through everything in his life, his best friend, his sister, his first love, and someone who ment the world to him.

Arthur was satisfied with Ron's answer, though he could tell he wanted to say something more. Either way, at least he admitted the way he reacted yesterday wasn't right, or at least that's what Arthur got out of Ron's answer. He gave Rain a small smile once more before taking his leave and going downstairs with his breakfast. He knew his little lecture wouldn't have the effect he wanted it to, but he had to say something. He decided he would forgive Ron a little bit since the guy agreed to apologize to Jasper, but only just a little. He barely felt any remorse for the words he spoke, something had to be said about Ron's actions and Arthur wasn't finished yet, but he'd cut the guy some slack for now.

He sat in the middle of the room where a table of petrified wood stood with a few chairs around it. Taking a seat, he propped his legs up on the table and held up the bowl. He dipped the spoon in and pulled it up to his mouth, ready to take a bite only to suddenly feel something run into his back. The spoon slipped from his finger and landed in the bowl as he jerked forward slightly from whoever it was who wrapped their arms around him.

"Arrrthuurrrr....Ron stole my beeeeerrr..go buy me some, go buy me some, go buy me soommeee!"

Should've known..

"I'm eating right now." He replied, turning his head a little to look at her, though he couldn't turn it much since her cheek was pressed against his.

"Please, please...I'm too tired..go buy me some!"

She started to shake him a little and he leaned forward, taking his feet of the table and placing them on the floor so he wouldn't fall backwards, though Lauri continued to hang off of him. "Stop begging! You sound like a little kid, aren't you supposed to be the oldest here? And you know I can't drive, do you expect me to walk? Plus, you don't even need to be drinking that stuff, don't you know it damages dendrites in your brain? It's not exactly the healthiest thing to be drinking in the morning, or ever." He was giving her the same lecture every time she mentioned wanting alcohol to him, but maybe he repeated himself so much thinking that perhaps one day it will actually get through to her. Fat chance.

Rain rose slowly, not trusting her legs to support her after what had just happened with Ron. Still a little unsteady on her feet, she walked upstairs, intending to find Jasper and tell her everything. However, after knocking on Jasper's door, she didn't hear any answer, so she figured Jasper must've gone downstairs without her seeing.

Rain headed downstairs again. Once in the living room, she saw Ron and Jasper together on the couch, talking. Smiling, Rain quietly went over to them. Perching herself on the armrest, she sent a smile Jasper's way. "Morning," she greeted.

Thinking about how to phrase what had just happened to Ron and herself, Rain decided to keep quiet about it for a while, at least until they were alone. She didn't really know how Ron would react, but she knew that Jasper would be happy for her, and keep it a secret until the right time. Jasper was better at stuff like that than Rain was. She would know what to do.

Lauri stared at him with a bored expression on her face as she listened to him give her a reply she's heard too many times to count. As he finished his last sentence she let out a groan and stood up. She walked around the the front of the chair and stood in front of Arthur for a moment, giving him a sad look and then slightly leaning forward and placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'll drive but I don't want to go alone! Pleaaseee?" She begged again, shaking his shoulders a little as she did so before straightening out and placing one hand on her hip.

"Then you can help me pick out Christmas presents for Derek and Rain, and you'll be able to get Ron and your girlfriend a gift too! How about that? Let's not patrol today and let's just take a break!" She said with an enthusiastic smile before picking up the spoon in Arthurs cereal bowl and taking a large bite of his cinnamon toast crunch and then putting the spoon back into the bowl and walking away. "I'm going to get dressed! Hurry up and eat so we can go!" She called back to him as she hurried up the stairs, disappearing before her friend could argue back. She hurried up to her room, spending about twenty minutes picking out something to wear. In the end she put on a thick, light purple sweater and a hot pink jacket over top along with a thin, tan scarf she simply threw over her shoulders. For bottoms she put on a pair of mint green shorts and thick, black tights with a pair of tan boots, folding the tops over so the cotton would show. Lastly, she replaced the dark blue ribbon around her pony tail with a dark green one before grabbing her bag and finally heading downstairs.

"I....fuck...I deserve that."

She nodded silently and sat up, granting Ron permission to sit down on the couch as he talked to her. She was mad, really mad, but Ron was one of the few people that she had a hard time snapping at. She didn't look at him as he talked, finding the blank screen of the television much more interesting. Jasper knew that if she looked, she'd feel bad for him, she knew exactly what look he'd have on his face, and she was much more content with being mad than sympathetic.

"Jas...yesterday, I'm so sorry. I mean, yelling and..."

She looked over at him for a second and saw that he wasn't looking at her. Angrily, she turned away with fists clenched. He was the strongest man in the world yet he wasn't man enough to even look at her when he was talking?

"Jasper...I...I don't know what to say.. There is no excuse for me yesterday. Killing a man or a thousand, I never want to hurt you. I was out there most of yesterday trying to think how I could ever talk to you again, after...hurting you like..."

Jasper took a deep breath, exhaling her frustration slowly before stealing a peek back at her friend, again. Big mistake. The look on Ron's face was that of a sad puppy and she cringed, fighting her instinct to hug him and forgive him. Ron was just one of those people who you couldn't stay mad at, even if you tried. "Just... be quiet." She said quietly, inhaling and exhaling one more time, admitting defeat. "I shouldn't be mad at you, you went through something terrible and... I was just being..." She looked away, obviously hating the fact that she was really the one in the wrong, "I was being childish. I was just surprised."

"..I love you Jasper...I-I-I swore I wouldn't hurt you and I did...p-please don't be mad at me Jas..please." She was surprised at the strain in Ron's voice and when she looked back to him she saw that Ron, the strongest man on the planet, was crying. Crying and begging for her forgiveness. Shocked, Jasper didn't have time to stop her own tears from falling and she made no haste rushing into her best friend's arms with shoulders shaking.

"D-d-d-damn it, Ron, you're making my em-m-motions go fun-k-ky." She hissed between sniffles. Finally, she sat back and wiped the wet streaks off of his face before going after her own. "T-t-twice in 24 h-hours. T-that's m-m-more than I've c-c-cried in my l-l-life." Playfully, she punched him in the shoulder before kissing Ron on the cheek. "I f-f-forgive you, Ch-champ."

"Morning."

Jasper practically jumped out of her socks. Rain's chipper voice was out of place after the exchange that just happened. "You scared me, dammit-hic!" She growled and hiccuped at the same time, clutching her chest as her heart rate struggled to calm. She whirled on Rain, still a bit jealous. Not only was Rain going to take Ron away from her, but their relationship would also mean that Ron got a date before she did and he would never let her live it down. However, one look at Rain's innocent, sweet face and her anger melted away. Rain was one of those people, too.

"Morning," Jasper repeated running her hands through her ratty hair, suddenly self conscious of the fact that she probably had a bedhead and looked like she had just crawled out from under a rock compared to Rain. "If you guys want time alone, I need to take a shower, anyway." She muttered, beginning to stand up.