The Dragons Girl (open)

Feeling James looking at her Angel raised her eyes and looked back at him with a small quizzical look before she smiled when he asked her if she could help him, "I can help you" she said as she finished off her own food. Angel was thankful that she had a lot of younger cousins and being the eldest often had left her caring for them at family gathering so maternal instincts to her were second nature, "Though I will warn you, I do go over the top with buying children's clothes" Angel laughed recalling the last time she had bought children's clothes for one of her cousins' babies; Angel had almost spent two thousand dollars that time.

James could feel a pull from his dragon side to be closer to Angel, seeing how she interacted with Lucy in such a familial way, tugging at something he hadn't experienced yet. He looked at her when she said something about clothes shopping, and he nodded slightly. "Father gave me that card for a reason. If I dont come back with everything this little mouse needs, Father will roast me." He drinked the rest of his water. "Can you help me out? I do pretty well shopping for myself, but I've never had to shop for clothing for other people."

Angel smiled as she watched James interact with Luna, he really did seem to have a parental instinct to the little girl. When he thanked her again for her help Angel shook her head a little "No need to thank me. I know if I needed it you'd help me" she said with a smile before she started to eat her food, she could tell that James would do anything for the little girl in her apartment and it warmed her heart knowing that. Glancing at Luna every now and then Angel reached out and helped the small girl here and there when she seemed to be struggling with something, "So you planning on going clothes shopping for her?" Angel asked casually.

James smiled as she sat Luna down and the little girl ran over, hanging onto his leg like a monkey. "I wanna see the red dragon!" He looked down at her, and made the motion that symbolized something big by bring his hands together and stretching them out comically wide. "The red dragon is very big, and people are very afraid of large things like that. Maybe one day, hm?" He picked her up as she giggled, walking after Angel into the dining room. He grabbed a pillow from Angel's couch and sat it in the chair at Luna's plate before he sat her on it. "There you go, little mouse." He then sat down at his place, resisting the urge to stretch and yawn. "Again... thanks for helping me out, Angel. I really do appreciate it."

Angel looked over her shoulder at James when she heard him speak and she smiled seeing him standing in the doorway, “Thanks” she said with a soft laugh. As soon as Luna noticed James she began to wiggle and Angel carefully put the little girl down so she could do what she wanted to do, once all of the food was done Angel dished it up onto plates and carefully balanced them on her hands a skill she had picked up when she had been a waitress in high school “Hope you’re hubtry” Angel said with a smile as she walked to the dining table and put the plates down.

James slowly sat up and the smell from the food wafted up from the kitchen. Getting up out of the bed, he grabbed his suitcase and pulled out fresh clothes, and went to her bathroom. After his quick shower, he got dressed and headed out of the room. Going to the kitchen, he smiled faintly and leaned against the doorway silently, watching the two of them. Seeing Angel interact so easily with Luna, and found himself very happy that she was there. "The food smells amazing, Angel."

Angel laughed softly when James growled and rolled away, "Fine" she said with a smile as she shook her head. Climbing out of the bed she headed for the guest room to check on Luna, seeing the little girl awake she managed to convince Luna to let her pick her up to get her food. Standing in the kitchen with the little girl sitting on her hip Angel set about making Luna, James and herself some breakfast. Holding the little one on her hip while doing things seemed to come naturally to Angel as did handing the little girl things to hold and play with while she cooked up bacon, eggs and toast for the three of them. Holding up an egg she smiled at Luna "Egg" she said with a nod of her head as she was telling Luna what each thing was as she used them.

James had weird dreams all through the night, some bordering on nightmares, with all of them causing his body to heat up. This had surely added to her curling into him in the middle of the night. His mother said his father was like a scaly space heater, and it seemed as if his son inherited that trait. He turned his back towards her when she poked him in the side, making a low growling noise in his sleep, as his dragon side was still sleepy, and he was perfectly okay with sleeping more.

Watching James as he came into the bedroom she smiled softly, snuggling under the covers more Angel closed her eyes and fell asleep. She managed to sleep soundly through the rest of the time, waking up relativity early in the morning Angel found that she had moved on the bed in her sleep and was snuggled against James with her head laying on his chest. Angel had missed the feeling of James' chest rising and falling when he was asleep and she wanted to bask in this moment for a bit, shaking her head a little Angel moved away from James and sat up in the bed and stretched her arms above her head. Putting her arms back down Angel looked at James and smiled, reaching over she poked him gently in the ribs "Wake up" she said her voice croaky from sleep.

James watched her as she left the kitchen, her touch lighting a fire deep inside of him, one that was deep and actually rather soothing. He chuckled to himself when he thought of what she said, and he reached up to run a hand through his hair. "I can be an adult, but this might be a tough challenge" He muttered to himself, turning off the kitchen light before heading to her room and climbing into bed, almost instantly falling asleep as he settled in.

Angel reached out and gently patted James on the chest when he said that he could sleep on the couch, "We are both grownups, I am sure we can share a king sized bed and it wont be weird" she said with a laugh before she walked out of the kitchen her hand lingering on his chest for a moment before she took it away and walked into her bedroom with a yawn. Walking over to her bed Angel pulled back the covers and climbed in getting comfortable wondering if James would sleep in the same bed as her or if he would sleep on the couch. He had always been so concerned on how things made her feel that it always made her so safe and comfortable.

James shook his head, yawning slightly behind one of his hands. "We aren't possessive or protective over gold or things. It is our significant other or mate that inspires that feeling in us." He stretched his arms slowly over his head, letting out a noise of satisfaction as his muscles stretched the relaxed. "If you want, I can sleep on the couch in the living room. I don't want to make you feel weird by sleeping in the same bed."

Angel laughed a little when James said that she had a reaction that he hadn't been expecting, "I am too tired to freak out. I'll probably freak out after getting some sleep so be prepared to cop a little pillow to the face in the morning" she laughed with a shake of her head knowing full well that hitting James with a pillow was something she would do just to tease him. When he said he knew was she was thinking Angel raised a brow before she smirked at him "Come on, you have to admit it would be hilarious if you hoarded gold. Stereotypical dragon" Angel giggled, she couldn't get that picture out of her head of James just being so possessive over a pile of gold that it amused her to no end.

James could feel the area around the Marking burning with a faint fiery feeling, the result of his dragon side feeling a little smug. He looked at Angel and smiled, placing his hands behind his back as he suppressed the impulse to pull her in for a kiss. He was glad her reaction wasn't as negative as he had expected. "You are just full of surprises. That was not the reaction that I was expecting. At all." He could see the look in her eyes, and he smirked faintly. "I know what you are thinking, and the gold hoard is a story invented be would-be romantic humans."

When James asked if she had thought about the origins of their hometown she shook her head “Never thought about it” she said with a shrug of her shoulders but as soon as he said that it was his father Angel gave him an odd look as if she didn’t believe what he was saying. Seeing the tattoo move Angel pushes away from the counter and closed the distance between the two of them, grabbing his arm she pulled the sleeve of his shirt up before she looked at his right hand in astonishment.

Watching him closely Angel took her hands away from him and pinched the bridge of her nose and clenched her eyes closed in an old habit while she was trying to process things that didn’t make complete sense to her. “So your father is...ancient so to speak and you’re some kind of dragon thingy?” Angel asked as she took her hand away from her nose and opened her eyes with a small giggle as the image of James hoarding gold came to mind.

James could feel his dragon side rising a bit, ready to emerge to a point so that way he could give her proof to what he was saying. "Have you ever thought about the origins of our hometown? Who found and settled the area? A hundred years ago, that person? That was my father." He closed his eyes, unable to look at her to see her initial reaction to what he was saying.

"Father came to America in the seventeen hundreds. His family had been hunted to near extinction, with him being the only one left." As he paused, the dragon Marking on his arm actually moved, disappearing under his shirt before the head settled on his arm right above his hands, the eyes looking right at her. "He founded this town, and when my mother moved into the town in the seventies, he finally had the family he always wanted." He opened his eyes, raising his hand so that way he could look at the Marking. "I got this not long after you left. I had the first Change three years ago. I always knew what I was, but... when we started dating I foolishly hoped that I would have more of my mother's human side in me, and would never get the Marking."

Grabbing a glass Angel looked over her shoulder James when he asked if they could talk she smiled at him and nodded "Of course" she said as she filled up her glass and downed it, putting the glass on the sink Angel turned and looked at James properly "What's up?" Angel asked as she tipped her head to the side a little curious as to what he wanted to talk to her about. As far as she knew they had left their relationship on good terms because they had both agreed that her moving away to do what she wanted to do was the best. "You know you can tell me anything" she said gently with a smile, even though she was smiling a little part of Angel was worried about what James might say.

James stood in the living room door, slowly looking around with a smile on his face. Even having moved to the city, Angel still had her same old style, if not evolved just a bit. He spotted the picture and his heart went quiet, his mind casting back to that night. He knew that his dragon side would offically emerge when he turned eighteen, and he had wanted to tell her about it but his father had talked him out of it. Watching her go into the kitchen, he paused for a minute before he stepped into the kitchen doorway. "Angel? Can we talk for a minute?"

While James settled down the little on Angel went and had a shower, once she got out she got dressed in a pair of silk pajama shorts and a cami top. Hearing James walk out of the guest room Angel walked out of her room and looked at him with a small smile "Want something to eat or drink?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips, there wasn't too much in her apartment and it was pristine in condition. In her living room there were pictures here and there of her family and friends but one picture that stood out was a photo sitting in the middle of the mantle over her fireplace of her and James at their prom. "Or would you rather just crash?" Angel asked as she took her hands off of her hips and wandered into the kitchen wanting to get herself a glass of water before going to bed and getting some sleep.

James settled into the back seat with Luna, as the girl refused to let go of him, even in her sleep. "She has a death grip on me. She should be fine when we get there." He shifted on the seat, careful not to jostle the little girl too much. She had called for him to show her his scaly trick, and he had to laugh it off in the hospital. He wondered how she knew anything about it, but he would worry about that later.

Once they arrived and Angel took them into her apartment, he went to the guest room and was in there a good five minutes, having to assure the toddler than he was only going to be next door before she would finally let him go. After making sure she was asleep, he slipped out of the room and shut the door softly with a sigh. His dragon side was pushing for a strong drink, something along the lines of bourbon or brandy, but he wanted to be clear minded for the shopping he needed to do tomorrow. He would have it delivered to his parents house naturally.

Angel spent the whole time that James was inside talking with her boss about what exactly had happened and he held her install the car seat in her car, once it was all done she went back to her boss' car with him to see him off and thank him again. Heading back for her car Angel sighed a little wondering what James was going to do when he got back home but that thought left her when she saw James sitting on the bench with the little girl in his arms. The sight brought a small smile to her lips as she walked over to him "Come on, lets go to my place so the little one can get some proper sleep" Angel said softly not wanting to wake up Luna. Just seeing how James held the little girl melted her heart, turning away from him she headed back over to her car and opened the back door so James could get the little one bundled in before she climbed into the car herself "I've only got one spare bed at my apartment so if you think she'll be okay by herself she can be in the guest bed" Angel said as she buckled herself in.

James had spaced out in the early part of the drive, eventually falling asleep. When they arrived at the hospital, he was awake and fully alert by the time the car stopped. He got out and walked around to the other side, staring at the entrance to the hospital, a strange nervousness settling into his gut. Turning to look at her, he smiled slightly, his gratefulness shining in his eyes. "Thank you, Angel. Really. I don't think I'd be able to do this alone. Mom will help me for sure when we get back, but this means a lot to me."

When she came back, she find James sitting on one of the benches at the front door, Luna curled up in his lap, sleeping. She had expended all of her energy when he had walked into the room. He looked up as the car approached, and he smiled at Angel.

Angel felt her stomach tighten and butterflies swarming when she saw that smile, that smile that could get her to do anything he wanted. When he said for them to go Angel nodded her head "See ya" she said with a smile as she waved a little at Aurora before she headed out of the house to get into the car, she hadn't bothered grabbing her bag she had brought with her home as she didn't need to since she had her apartment. Once James was in the car she pulled away from the curb and began to drive into the city, Angel stayed quiet as she drove only now and again glancing at James in the fading light. When they reached the city Angel yawned a little and shook her head as she hated driving at the best of times, getting to the hospital where Luna was still waiting to be released into James' care Angel parked the car and looked at James "So I'll meet with my boss and get the car seat he has with him and get into the car, you go and sign the papers needed and I'll bring you both back to my apartment" Angel said with a soft smile as she opened the drivers door.

Aurora laughed lightly behind her hand, James coughing lightly to cover up his own laughter. He raised up his bag when she asked if he was ready to go. "You know me. I pack light, only the essentials."

"Here you go, dear." James blinked as his mother pressed a sleek black credit card into his free hand. "Mom, what-" Aurora shook her head, glancing towards the stairs. "Your father. He wouldn't let me leave the room this morning until I promised to give this to you. You know how he felt about that little girl." He smiled softly and gave his mother a quick hug. "I'll bring her right over as soon as we get back, okay? I'd love to see him smile again." He then turned to Angel and gave her that smile that she always liked. "Let's go."

Angel smiled at Aurora when she answered the door, walking inside she stood almost awkwardly in the very familiar house she had planned on just standing outside and waiting but Aurora wasn't the kind of woman you said no to, when James emerged from the basement she caught sight of the markings she smiled a little "Nice tattoo" she sad before she shuffled her feet a little and chewed her bottom lip. "You all ready to go?" she asked as she juggled the car keys between her hands a little as she glanced at Aurora a little, "If you want you can sleep on the drive and I'll wake you up when we get to the city" Angel suggested knowing if he slept it would give her time to try and figure out how she was going to house James and a small child in her two bedroom apartment. She was sure she could make a guest bed safe enough for the little girl and she was grown up enough to just share a bed with James without anything happening.