OOM: Travelling with Jemma.

[runningred]

Jay leans on the bar, dressed in his scruffy black leathers. His bike parked just inside the door, ready to go.

He grins to Jemma as she joins him. "Ready to go, Princess?"

Comments

[runningred]

"You feel asleep in the lab." He goes down to his knees to unlace her shoes, taking them off for her. "It's time for bed."

[protect_and_survey]

Jemma frowns at him blearily, trying to reconstruct the series of events, and then very visibly gives it up as a bad job.

"Haven't done that in a while." She yawns, blinking owlishly as she struggles to sit up properly. "You okay?"

[runningred]

"I'm fine." Jay promises softly, tucking her into bed before getting himself ready. "Don't worry about it. It's all sorted."

He slides in next to her, keeping a modest distance unless she wants to get closer.

[protect_and_survey]

Despite any hopes to stay awake, someone made sure that the beds, at least, were very comfortable. Jemma's fast asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow.

When she wakes up, it's to wonder why in heaven's name Fitz has changed his alarm clock to tropical bird calls. That's just ridiculous.

[runningred]

Jay doesn't need much sleep so he wakes early and is sitting on the balcony playing with a serval kitten. It wandered in during the night and was asleep on Jay's chest when he woke up.

[protect_and_survey]

"Fiiiitz, turn the bloody thing off." Jemma whines when the alarm goes on and on and...

...

Wait. Hold that thought.

"Good morning." She manages, after re-orienting to her surroundings.

[runningred]

Jay chuckles, amused that Jemma's use to waking up to Fitz's alarm. "Morning. There's a pot of tea on the table." He's been up for a while, long enough to raid the kitchen.

[protect_and_survey]

That's the magic word - tea. She untangles herself from the bedding and shuffles over, absent-mindedly picking hair pins out and twisting her hair into a very sloppy bun. Once she has a cup of the magical beverage, she makes the trek to join Jay on the balcony.

"I see you've found a friend."

[runningred]

Jay has his leather wrist band unwound for the kitten chase it. "I woke up with her playing with my hair. Figured I'd give her something safer to play with." She pounces on his hand, chomping on his fingers. "They really have no fear of people."

[protect_and_survey]

"Somewhere in the world there is a pop culture millionaire dying of jealousy of you." She grins - how many stories of exotics pets make the popular news?

Don't ask how many exotic critters escaped into New York City during Loki's attack. It was a tiny bit of a nightmare.

"So where to today?"

[runningred]

"I think places like this exist to safe pretty little sweeties like this one don't end up as neglected pets of millionaires." Jay answers absently, trying to get his fingers back from the kitten.

"Chill and his guys asked me to help release one of their gorillas back into the valley. Wanna come help?" He gets up to talk to her, laughing as the kitten chases him, trying to latch onto his jeans. "I talked to Dr Simeon last night. He's promised to stay away till we leave. There's others of his people here but none of them are telepaths. That's a royal family trait. I also convinced him I could tell you anything you wanted to know if you wanted to know it."

[protect_and_survey]

She squints at him, actually pausing to reconsider before responding.

This could go rather badly, actually.

"How do you know? That you're not him, doing what he says?"

[runningred]

"Because he never got into my head. He can't. There are probably telepaths strong enough but he's not even close." He sits down, eye to eye with her. "Part of my training was with a very, very powerful telepath named J'onn. He taught me how to shield myself and how to sense and counter telepathic attack."

Jay taps his temple. "What's in here is mine and just mine. But if you're worried, we can leave. Right now if you like."

[protect_and_survey]

The follow-up question of 'well then how do you know you're not being controlled by that other telepath' goes unasked - she managed to ask the question once, she's a little too worried about rocking the boat to ask again.

"Fitz really would hate me forever if I skipped seeing a monkey."

[runningred]

Ask, Jemma. Jay will tell you anything you want to know.

He smiles and offers her an hand. "Come on then. Lets grab some breakfast before they head out."

Breakfast is a massively informal affair with everyone fending for themselves in the big common room/kitchen. The science team nab her as soon as she walks through the door, nattering happily about the gorilla they're releasing and the treatments it needed for injuries. They're so excited to be able to release him back into the wild.

There are also a few new faces at breakfast - two orangutans and a young gorilla are chatting away with everyone, very much part of the staff of the centre.

[protect_and_survey]

...

Fitz owes her big time for this. Jay never told her he was from The Planet of the Apes. She manages to shoot him a look with implications, strong ones about how it is polite to tell people that there might be talking monkeys at breakfast.

There is, however, sweet sweet sciencetalk to distract her from wondering about the monkeys and just how true it is that only some of them are telepaths and... bother telepaths anyway.

[runningred]

Jay sheepishly smiles at her, promising to make it up to her later. The rangers are busy main-lining coffee and getting ready to prep the truck. The call out to Jay to get them a hand but the science team are determined to keep Jemma distracted

One of the orangutans joins in the conversation with the science team, clearly a very well educated botanist from her discussion. She holds a hand out to Jemma. "I'm Suzie, by the way. Dr Suzie Valentine. I heard what happened with Nzame. I'm really sorry. He's such a dick sometimes."

[protect_and_survey]

"So I've gathered." She replies, resisting the urge to add further commentary - AD Hill would be so proud.

Or something.

Mostly facepalming that the scientist has wandered off into a world full of telepaths, actually.

...

Probably that, yes.

"My lab partner would give up his arc welder to meet you. And he loves that arc welder." Monkey scientists. Fitz would never, ever leave.

[runningred]

Suzie chuckles warmly. "I'd give up my molecular spectroscopy for a night with your guy." She tilts her head looking over at Jay. "He's gorgeous!"

[protect_and_survey]

"Oh, no, he's not!" She assures quickly, the words stumbling out in surprise. "I mean, he's not my 'guy'. He is the other thing. Er. Gorgeous. Yes." What? She has eyes, and isn't clueless.

She's also a tiny bit baffled about interspecies attraction. She isn't entirely sure she wants to know, however.

[runningred]

"Really! I'd jump him given half a the chance. Just look at those muscles." Suzie sighs. "So, are you coming out to the park with us today?"

[protect_and_survey]

"I suppose I am. If my partner ever finds out about this, and discovers I didn't go, I'll never hear the end of it." Well. More likely she'll never hear the end about how she's gone off without him, but that's an entirely different problem.

[runningred]

"Come on then. I think pretty much everyone's going out so just jump in a truck." Susie knuckles her way towards the door as the others load up, swing down to the driveway with simian grace.

Chill smiles and offers Jemma a broad brimmed hat and some bug repellent. "Pretty wild out there. You stay close with us, yes?"

Jay's already out the door and helping some of the others transfer a large sleeping gorilla into the back of one of the trucks.

[protect_and_survey]

"Oh, I shan't be wandering off." She assures Chill with a smile of her own, settling the hat firmly - she's entirely too aware of her tendency to burn.

And her desire to not wander off is enforced by the idea that somewhere out there is a telepathic monkey with no manners.

Carefully she clambers up into one of the trucks, watching and mimicking the actions of those around her to not be too out of place and useless.

[runningred]

Several of the science team from yesterday climb in with her, chattering happily as the trucks make the winding journey down into the valley. They point out all the different species of birds and animals, the valley teaming with life.