McDonald's Sucks (attn: Court, Ix)

[FadedNoel]

[Edited a bit, because I misremembered stuff!]

It's much later than the teens expect when their study group at Garrett's condo is finally interrupted by a knock on the door. If she had Jake's number, Grace would have already told him what was up, but in the chaos of Kalen freaking out, she didn't bother to ask. Maybe someone has already let them know, but she is unaware.

When the call came from Kalen asking for her help to deliver food to the place and make sure Garrett's kid was okay, Grace obliged. Kalen's been there for her in the hard times. So, food it is.

She's only been here once before, and let's be honest, never expected or hoped to come to Garrett's place again. It's amazing that she even remembered how to get there, considering her mental state the last time. But she stands on the other side of the door, carrying plastic bags full of stuff, as well as a couple of pizza boxes. She raided the Chantry fridge, and also sprung for pizza because it's study food. Traditional, yes?

As soon as the door opens, she begins to explain.

"Hey, I brought pizza, and there's some baba ghanoush in this sack. Also some tabouli I think, I didn't really check it out too well. But yeah, food," she says to whoever is there. But to Jake, she adds, "There's been an..um.. accident. Your dad's okay, but he's in the hospital."

[CourtCat]

The kid who opens the door is very tall and very thin and very white (with dark hair and dark eyes), and thickly accented with something European - an exchange student, maybe. "T, your dad's girlfriend is here with food! No McDonald's, though. Pizza and stuff, and something about an accident."

"What are you talking about? My dad doesn't have a girlfriend." To his credit, Jacob is instantly on guard; perhaps it would do his father proud to see how ready the boy is to defend their home, to do whatever needs to be done. Maybe he'd realize that all the training was taking hold after all. And of course, he's not as tall as the boy who answered the door (Jacob slides in at around six feet even, an inch or so taller than his dad, Stretch, who answered the door, is more like 6'5), nor as white, nor are his eyes as dark (though his hair is, but is anything but the straight, well behaved mop of the exchange student, instead flowing out from his head in wild curls). He's also more muscled, and more wary until he sees who it is.

And snorts. "That's not my dad's girlfriend, she's Kalen's - one of my dad's students. Go hand out food," he finishes, those blue eyes that are darker than his father's but no less intense pinned on the Virtual Adept. And again to his credit, the other boy obeys without question despite the lack of obvious command, and no tingle of magic. Steeped in magic and lore, then, but not Awakened. "What happened? Do I need to worry about something coming here?" The question comes when they're as alone as they can be with a gang of high school kids not far from where they stand in the entry way, back in that open living/dining/kitchen area. That he's dismissive and disdainful of anything in which his father is involved is, perhaps, a given from the interaction Grace witnessed when she was here before. But this near-stranger showing up at his door is cause enough to take it a bit more seriously than he might otherwise.

[Samael]

[[To clarify: Lena's exact words to Kalen would have been "Kalen, please come to Denver Health Medical Center." And that's it. She would trust Kalen to know that if she was asking him to come to the hospital, there would be a damned good reason.

The reason being: Lena doesn't have Ginger on her phone anymore since Hydra, as her phone was ruined and she hasn't been around to have anyone install it. And at her last point of knowledge, neither did Garrett. So she's not telling anyone about mages who are in hospitals over the phone.

Once Kalen gets to the hospital she will tell him the whole thing in private and will tell him that Garrett asked him to check on someone named Jacob. If Kalen has Grace do that then cool, but at no point would Lena have said that Garrett was in the hospital over the phone.]]

[FadedNoel]

She looks as though this is a concept that hadn't yet occurred to her. But of course. If someone's going after Garrett, they might show up at his place. "I don't know," she says, quite at a loss. "I don't think so, or else Kalen would be freaking out even more I suspect."

But then, is anybody safe, anywhere?

"I'll see if I can't get a hold of him. Get some better information. Um, yeah, can I come in?"

The place feels like Garrett, even from the outside. Feels safe and secure and calming, and even though Grace understands how quickly Garret can change from safe and warm to cold and distant, the echoes of his presence here offer comfort.

Whether she's let in or not, it doesn't really matter for the time being. She pulls her phone out of her laptop bag and calls Kalen anyway.

"Hey, I'm at his place, delivered food. Everything okay?"

Everything, including us, is what she really means. But she's not going to ask that over the phone.

[CourtCat]

"Yeah," Jacob (T as his friend called him, Jake as Kalen calls him - perhaps the boy will grow into as many identities as his 'brother' has) says as he steps out of the way, closing the door behind Grace once she's in. There's an air of easy authority around the kid that no sixteen-year-old should hold, but is flawless and complete as that subtle stability his father evidences. Unlike his father, though, he doesn't go out of his way to exert the control he must know he could easily take. He is just a kid, after all, though anyone who dared to say so would quite likely have a fight on his or her hands. "They're normies, the other kids are. We can go talk in Dad's room or mine. Or we could stand here, I guess, but there's more chance of someone interrupting."

Garrett's tried to give his kid as close to a normal life as possible, that's obvious - it's equally obvious that he hasn't been entirely successful. Jacob is wary, and quick to go on the defensive. And then there's the phone, and he says, "I want to talk to Dad. Or Kalen." And lagging behind enough to be an obvious afterthought, "Please."