In need of a friend

Chase had whipped out her cellphone the moment she was aways down the road, and had talked furiously for a moment, tears frozen behind her sunglasses as she drove down the road away from the Krum household. She drove in silence for a long time, unable to say anything to the kids. Kitty was making cute gurgling noises in her car seat and Fauve was humming, but Thierry was extremely quiet, having known what had happened, being aware of what his father had done. Chase didn't know what he was thinking, but she was sure it wasn't very nice things.

"Want to go to the park kids?" She asked softly after a long time of driving. "We'll pick up some food, and maybe some ice cream.. and meet a friend of mine... we won't be going back to the house.. but we'll get your stuff soon.." She said gently, trying to hide the quivering in her voice. Trying to be strong so it didn't look like she was on the verge of a mental and emotional breakdown. After an extremely long drive, and a few magical transportation helps later, they were in London, and parked beside a park in the middle of an expensive looking neighborhood. "Go on and play.. then we'll get some food... It's alright Thierry.. just look after Fauve.. I'll take care of Kitty." She said and watched as Fauve, who was eager to stretch her legs and run, jumped out of the car and ran to the playground equipment.

Chase got Kitty out of her car seat, grabbed a bottle and her diaper bag, and sat down on a bench, watching the kids play. Calvin would come.. he always came..and she was almost surprised he wasn't around yet.. she had called a while ago, and had probably interrupted him in his one time a day of being an adult. She had said she wouldn't be there for a while, and she was a bit earlier then she had thought, so it wasn't to big of a surprise that he wasn't there yet. But still..

Chase fed Kitty, and watched the children play. She had no idea what she would do.. she wasn't a mother yet.. she wasn't ready for this.. a sympathetic muggle woman came over and started to talk lightly with her. Cooing over Kitty, as Chase played along, no smiles, but talking politely. The lady could tell something was wrong, but didn't push it, and shortly afterwards left to go make sure her own children were doing alright. "Oh Calvin.. where are you?" She asked softly, as Kitty fell asleep in her arms, her little hand clenched around a lock of Chase's hair, her thumb stuck in her mouth as she slept fitfully.

“Excuse me! Sorry I didn’t mean to-oh dear, I really am sorry,” Calvin called after each and every person he bumped into as he sped down one of the many hallways within the Ministry building. The one moment that he had parted with the only piece of technology that the Ministry of Magic had permitted him to keep with him as he worked, Chase had called and left him a voicemail- a voicemail in which his dear friend had sounded so very in need of his support. So he ran, or tumbled as he continuously tripped over each leg that he placed in front of himself, making his way towards the elevator. His career may have been important to him, but he had yet to find something or someone who could top Chase Moor on that list.

Calvin collapsed into the elevator, seconds away from being smashed in-between the two rapidly closing doors. “I need to get to the first floor, please, please, please, please, please!” it sounded as if he were a malfunctioning robot, due to the fact that his sudden rush of energy had begun to seep into the part of his brain that controlled his speech. An old, gray-haired man with a skeptical expression leaned forward and selected the button that was marked with a glowing number one, trying desperately to avoid any physical contact with the strange young man laying on the elevator floor.

Ding! The elevator sung after a long moment of Calvin humming to the music that was playing in the small, poorly-lit box. Immediately he jumped to his sneaker-clad feet and forced himself through the doors singing, “Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh, BATMAN!” – a song which he found himself singing quite often as he ran. Perhaps it had something to do with the impossible speed that his long legs were capable of carrying him at; it almost appeared as if he were flying.

Though the young man wished to continue running like that, as fast as he possibly could, he paused when he had made it outside of the enormous building and had reached the sidewalk; the street was quite intimidating as cars zipped across it, and Calvin could not help but feel intimidated as he watched them pass. “Superheroes aren’t afraid of anything… superheroes aren’t afraid of anything…” He continued to repeat this line over, and over, and over again, his voice getting louder each time he said it. “Superheroes aren’t afaid of anything!” he finaly screeched at the top of his lungs, his nasally voice echoing off every object in the area.

He darted forward, and just made it across the busy highway before another vehicle drove down the street, going far faster than the speed limit allowed. Calvin himself did not own a car, for he was far too afraid of hurting pedestrians, but if he had, he would certainly follow the speed limits that had been set in order to protect everyone. It made no sense to Calvin when people broke laws…

He did not, however, ponder over this for much longer, for he had a mission, and that mission was to stand by Chase in a time of need.

-

“Chase! Chase! Chase!” Calvin called repetitively, his arms flopping at his sides and his knees buckling; he had run the distance from the Ministry of Magic to a park across the city, after all. “Chase- I’m here! I am so sorry I took so long!” he added as he neared his dear friend, but he was slowly sinking to the ground as he went, sinking until he had collapsed right there in the grass with the bottoms of his sneakers facing upward, and his face buried in the ground. “I’m here!” he called again, but it was nothing but a muted grumble from where he was lying.

Chase found herself looking down on an extremely exhausted man who lay practically at her feet. "Calvin?! Did you run here? Why didn't you take a bus.. or apparate!" She gasped, pulling him to his feet, happy for the distraction. Kitty was still in her arms, so she was being very careful with her as she helped him to his feet and brushed off his shirt, and looked up at him sadly. "Calvin.. meet Katherine... last time you saw her.. well she was in my stomach." She said gently, looking down at the tiny bundle in her arms. For she was in fact quite a little bundle, it was a cool day, and Chase didn't want her catching a cold.

After a short pause, Chase sat down, and stared at the playground. "Fauve and Thierry are playing.. I'll take us all out to eat when they get to tired.. but we need to talk.. not here probably.. after we get some food... and after the kids are in bed..." She said softly, her eyes watching as Fauve ran around laughing and giggling gleefully from her brother, who was trying to distract himself with Fauve's games. "Fauve is the little girl... Thierry is the boy..." She said pointing them out to Calvin before glancing at him.

Somehow, no matter how much she wanted to around Calvin, a smile just would not grace her lips. She was broken, even if the tears wouldn't show themselves. She kept telling herself it was for the kids, the kids couldn't see her weakness.. if they saw her upset, they would get scared.. she had to be strong.. for Thierry.. for Fauve.. Fauve seemed to be completely unaware that anything bad was happening, though she kept throwing odd looks at Chase and Calvin, who sat on the bench.

"So much has happened... and after it did... after it all happened.. you were the first one on my mind to call.." She said softly, her eyes staring straight ahead, unseeing. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything important.." She said softly, her eyes switching from staring straight ahead, to staring at Katherine, who yawned in her sleep, and relaxed her grip on the strand of Chase's hair, letting it fall out of her tiny fingers.

"I was bringing stuff up to Elijah's studio.. earlier... and... when I opened the door, he was pressed up against the wall.. with some girl I had never seen before.. she had her hand down the front of his pants... he looked so... happy... I closed the door, and walked out, packed my things.. shouted a bit, and left... Bringing all of the kids with me.. Fauve and Thierry's were technically his.. he adopted them, but I don't think they should be in a household with THAT as a father.. so I took them with me... I have enough to get my own place.. but Calvin.. could I stay with you.. for a little bit.. so I can put my mind in order before I take care of them all on my own?" She said softly, her eyes unable to fill with tears, still hidden behind the sunglasses.

"I can pay rent.. I could even get you and Reed a bigger apartment.. I don't care! I just... need some help right now.." she said and her voice broke, she stared down at Kitty, taking off her sunglasses and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Please.. Calvin.. it would be so much to me.. I could get an apartment.. you and Reed could move in.. we could all help raise these kids... these kids that deserve so much more.." She whispered and looked down at Kitty, who was still fast asleep, unaware that she would never see her father, never know the man who had made her existence possible, all because he had to go and be a lying, cheating manwhore..

The second Calvin heard that voice of hers, he was filled to the brim with energy again; it did not matter if he had run faster and farther than his body could handle, he had made it to Chase, and she needed him to be her superhero at that moment. “The bus wasn’t there yet, and I'm scared of apparation- oh no, apparation is dangerous Chace, don’t ever apparate. Promise me you wont! You might get hurt, and I was a healer once but I am not that good at it…” he spoke, his words leaping off of his tongue as quickly as they always did. He would have continued to speak in this way, had he not noticed the beautiful creature that Chase was cradling in her arms.

Calvin paused, his mouth opening slowly in surprise as he stared at the redheaded child with wide eyes. Right there before him was a mini-Chase, a child that she had created, and was allowing him to visit. “Katherine… we will be best friends, I promise,” he whispered, slowly and gently taking a seat next to Chase, so not to disturb the sleeping infant. Calvin wished to hug her with all of his strength, but he feared that she was too fragile and that he would break her, and so he sat on his hands, gazing with an amazed twinkle in his eyes at the child. “She’s your baby... she is perfect, Chase” he spoke once more. He was acting as though he had never seen a newborn before, when, in fact, he had spent a large portion of his time around the perfect creatures when he had worked at St. Mungos.

Thierry and Fauve were a bit harder for Calvin to locate as they ran about the playground, but when he had, he could not help but smile from ear to ear; oh how he adored watching children play. They were innocent in a way that adults could not be, and if it weren’t for children, Calvin would not have had anyone to be inspired by. They were little rays of the Sun, spreading light throughout London…

He had begun to forget why he was panting in order to catch his breath, why his presence was so important at that moment, until Calvin turned his attention back towards Chase, and he remembered the urgency that he had heard in her voice when he had listened to her message. He instantly grew quiet, though he allowed his smile to remain on his face; she needed him to listen, and that was exactly what he was prepared to do. He would be anything that Chase needed him to be, at any moment in time.

When the two of them last spoke, Chase had told him of her troubles, and he feared as she began to speak, that he would once again be reduced to tears as he sat beside her on a bench in the park- at least, until he decided that he would not allow that to happen. Chase had told him never to change, and he would do the best he could to remain his cheery, childish self. He would hug her, and reassure her as she cried, because as he had stated before, superheroes were not afraid of anything- nor did they cry when their friends needed them.

This, however, proved to be quite the difficult task as he listened patently to Chase’s retelling of day’s events, which made him feel so very sorry for her. She had been betrayed by the man that she loved, and though Calvin was not positively sure that he understood how painful this was, he was very good at imagining, and could get close enough to the emotion that Chase was feeling. Her heart had been broken after she had just put it back together, and it wasn’t fair. “Oh Chase, I'm sorry, I am so sorry,” he spoke softly with gentle eyes.

Did the children know? Calvin could not help but wonder as he looked at Thierry and Fauve once more. They were almost old enough to understand what their father had done, and he desperately hoped that the poor children were not in the same sort of pain that his beloved Chase was. He did not know if he would be able to find that much glue to put so many hearts back together- but he would certainly try. There had to be some way that he could fix what had been damaged…

And it was during specific thought when Chase had brought up her biggest question: “Calvin.. could I stay with you.. for a little bit.. so I can put my mind in order before I take care of them all on my own?” In light of Chase’s situation, Calvin should not have been so happy to hear these words, and yet, he could not help himself, for he had been given the opportunity to make things right for his dearest friend. “Yeah! I can sleep on the couch, and you can have my room. Reid wont mind, he likes you too and I have sooooo much pancake mix. There will be enough for everyone! Katherine”- as Calvin mentioned the infant’s name, he realized that he was speaking loud enough to wake her, and immediately quieted his voice- “can have my Kerbie stuffed animal too!” he answered, speaking so quickly that it was a wonder he didn’t pass out. “No, no, no, no, no our flat is big enough for all of us, you don’t need to spend any money on us. Thierry will love Super Mario!” he continued, doing his best to stay put on the bench, which meant that he was squirming in place with excitement, his eyes dancing.

“Don’t worry, Chase, I will make sure that everything gets better,” Calvin finished, having calmed for a moment to get this particular sentence out of his mouth while putting true meaning behind it at the same time, “I will help, I swear.”

So that was it, it was all out in the open, Calvin knew about Elijah, and knew that she was broken and needed help. She knew that he would try hard, and somewhere in her, she knew that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to heal this hole in her chest. This hole that seemed to stretched and wide to heal anymore. She needed to heal it up again, but there would always be a hole.. always a reminder.. a hole from her parents, from her friends, from her lover.. she had just had a baby, nearly died, and now she knew that her fiancee was nothing better then.. well then a cheater! He didn't love her.. he never would.. he wasn't that way.

"Thank you so much Calvin." Chase whispered and put Katherine in her stroller, just so that she could give Calvin a hug. She needed one right now, she needed one badly. She was only seventeen! She was dealing with to much to be seventeen, she felt like she should be forty, not seventeen. Curling her arms around her friend, Chase tried hard not to cry. She couldn't yet.. not yet... not in front of the kids.. later, yes, later. And the tears pushed themselves back, ready to make an entrance later in the day.

"Calvin, you have no idea how much you mean to me... I've missed you so much, and I need someone like you to help me along.. I need someone like you to help me take care of these kids! But I have a huge request.. a request.. that is going to sound odd.. and may even be a bit dangerous..." She said softly her eyes looking out at Fauve and Thierry, who were starting to look hungry and tired. "I need you to keep them secret... there will be people.. who will be looking for them... trying to find them, trying to find ME, and they mustn't.. they can't! I will go and get the adoption papers... I will adopt those kids.. I just need to keep them safe for now!"

Chase looked at them and felt a long deep sigh escape her. Her hand finding Calvin's and holding on tightly, as she gently rocked the stroller back and forth to help lull Katherine to sleep again. "The Krum's will be after me.. they will use every object money can buy to track these children down.. and we musn't let them.. they can't have them.. they will take them back, take them, and keep them.. I need to keep them safe, or they will grow up to be exactly like Elijah... selfish, and crude.. with no other desire then sex and cigarettes." She said softly, her eyes trained on Calvin now. "They will need a father figure.. and a friend. "She said and looked at Katherine.. What she didn't mention was that she needed one too.

Hugs were miracles sent straight from heaven- Calvin was sure of it as he returned the gentle squeeze that Chase had given him. From the very start human beings were programmed to feel calmed by the presence of a pair of gentle arms wrapped around them and the sound of a near heartbeat, and so, during that moment of silence, Calvin knew of no better way to console his dear friend, than to return her warm embrace. If only a fractured heart could be mended in the way a healer could mend a broken bone. If only Calvin could do something to make her smile- and a pure, joyous grin, not an expression that one wore when they felt the need to dodge questions and concerns. If only…

He was a wizard for Mario’s sake! Why couldn’t he do something meaningful with that power? Calvin sighed, causing a few strands of Chase’s brilliant red hair to drift about the air just inches in front of his face. “What can I do to make it better?” Calvin asked gently. For once, the jester of all jesters did not no what to do in order to brighten his audience’s day.

Almost immediately, Calvin’s question was answered, but he wasn’t quite sure how to respond to such gloomy words. He dropped his arms at his sides once more, and he listened carefully to Chase’s instructions.

Calvin had never responded well to danger- and he had good reason to be terrified of such a powerful element. He jumped at the opportunity to spread joy, laughter, and love, but no matter what form it came in, when Calvin was asked to face danger, he shrank. This fear had been the very reason for his resignation from his position at London’s finest wizard hospital; he’d found himself telling one too many children that they had no chance of survival. It had simply been too much pain for Calvin to withstand.

Could he rise to the challenge that Chase had presented him with? Could he protect Fauve and Thierry, two innocent children, from being taken away from the only real family they had left? Suddenly, Calvin’s expression changed; he had an expression for every occasion, and this particular one just so happened to be his “hero face”. He stood abruptly and bent his elbows, resting both of his hands on his hips in a stance that had most definitely come straight out of a comic book.

“I will protect them with all that I’ve got!” Calvin agreed, though, in all honestly, he felt like an ant on the inside.

If Chase needed him to keep her children safe, he would do just that, even if it did make him shiver and shake when she wasn’t looking.