MHA #13 - Friday Afternoon

[itsananomaly]

It had been several long days between getting rescued from Christine and Wilder's clutches, everything still ached from those punches that Wilder had subjected him to but he was just glad to be able to get away from them. Now he and Connor would be serving several months house arrest in Fandom starting from the New Years as part of their deal to avoid jail, he stared down at the monitor that was on his ankle. It didn't feel real, everything that they had endured but he got to be with Connor and they weren't in jail so at least that something. He numbly sat down on the couch in their flat once they had returned to Fandom, "it still feels like everything's a dream," he said softly, "I never thought I'd be back in Fandom ... especially under these circumstances," [the final part. Preplayed with the amazing anomaly_research_nerd. As of this post Cutter and Connor are officially back in Fandom]

Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor walked over and sat down beside him, the monitor on his ankle feeling heavy and cumbersome as he still tried to get use to the feel of it being there. "I know... it's like I keep expecting to wake up and find this is a dream. And part of me wishes this was just a terrifying dream and the other part of me is worried that if I wake up and this is a dream then it's just going to be worse." Connor sighed and looked at Cutter. "I and glad that Im going through this with you here" he said as he reached out and slipped his hand into Cutter's.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile as Connor his hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'm glad that I get to do this with you as well, that we're here and not in jail or being subjected to more of Christine and Wilder's beatings," he said softly, "I ... I didn't know how much more of that I was going to be able to take," he said softly, rubbing his jaw where there was a rather nasty bruise. "I'm ... I'm scared that I'm going to wake up and still be chained to that wall," and as he said that he realised that could now refer to two separate things and part of him was still terrified that he was still Helen's prisoner but now he was going to be afraid of being Christine's, "I ... I mean the second time," he clarified quietly.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded as he shifted gingerly, his ribs protesting loudly against the movement. He knew how bad the bruises looked and they felt just as bad. "It's definitely better than the alternative of being stuck with Christine and Wilder. I'm glad that Lester worked it out so we can be together at least."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"It's better knowing that I'm here with you, that we aren't separated again," Cutter said softly, "I ... I was so afraid when they separated us ... I'm, I'm sorry that Wilder hurt you though," he said, noticing how gingerly Connor seemed to be moving, "I ... I wish I had been able to do more, to stop you getting hurt,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Nick... you couldn't do anything but worry and protect yourself," Connor said softly. "Same as me. They separated us and did that on purpose. You did everything you could do. Nothing at all to apologize about."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter trembled, “I should have done more,” he said softly, “if I hadn’t antagonised them so much, they may not have separated us,” he stared down at his hands, shaking as he remembered Christine attempting to break his hand before James had burst in with the house arrest terms.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"They would have done what they did eventually, no matter what we did. Short of giving them everything they wanted, they made it clear they weren't going to stop or hold back." Connor gave Cutter's hand a gentle squeeze as he forced a small smile. "We came through it, the team got us out, Lester was able to arrange something better than being Christine's prisoner.... Its not ideal but it's better than the alternative. We just have to sit tight and try and get through this." And Connor knew that was easier said than done. Everything was such a jumble inside him. He felt angry one moment, terrified the next, frustrated, and then hopeless and hopefully at almost the exact same time. He was still trying to process it all. "I'm glad you are here Nick. I don't think.. no, I know I wouldn't be able to do this without you."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter trembled as he held onto Connor's hand, "I'm glad that James was able to make the arrangements that we could do the house arrest together," he said softly, "I wouldn't want to have done this alone," He glanced down at his ankle monitor, "and this is definitely better than jail or being at the mercy of Christine and Wilder all the time," his other hand awkwardly rubbed at his jaw, he winced a little at how sore it was.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor reached out and lightly traced a couple fingers over Cutter' jaw, very carefully tracing the bruised area. "I'm sorry Wilder and Christine hurt you... I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them,that I couldn't protect you like I should have."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"You have nothing to apologise for," Cutter said softly, trying to not wince as Connor even lightly traced over his jaw, "Wilder and Christine would have found other ways to hurt me ... to hurt us ..." he found himself blinking back tears, "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop us from getting caught to begin with,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"The entire team could only keep us hidden away for so long. Lester could only keep them at bay for so long. You have nothing to be sorry for Nick" Connor said. "We'll take care of each other and figure it out."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded softly, "at least we were lucky to be away from Christine and Wilder for as long as we were ...I hate to think of what damage they could have done if we were their prisoners any longer," he paused, "thank you for stopping me from turning myself in that day," he now knew just how bad it could have been if he'd gone through with it.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Hey someone has to look out for you when you won't do it for yourself" Connor said with a smirk. He looked at Cutter for a moment and then gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. "You need anything Nick? Can I do anything?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile at that and then he tilted his head as he considered, "maybe a drink?" he suggested, "I could do go for a coffee or a tea right now,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"I can do that" Connor said with a grin as he stood. "Might even be able to rustle up a little something to go with it too if ya like. I know we still need to stock up on a few things before lockdown begins, but still need to keep out strength up right? House arrest doesn't have to include fasting after all" he added with a wink.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	And for the first time since all the events of the last week had happened, Cutter relaxed a little and he smiled up at Connor, "that would be nice, I could go with something to eat and we're allowed deliveries as well right, since we're technically bringing the food to us, we're not leaving the flat," he added.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Very good point. How about while I get the tea and snacks ready, you call in some delivery for us?" Connor asked with a grin. "Then we will be set for the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow. Danny and Becker did set up that food allowance for us and told us to use it whenever we needed" he added with a fond smile thinking about how they had insisted on helping out however they could to make the house arrest as tolerable and comfortable as possible for them.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter grinned at that, "now that I can do. How about I order has some Chinese food and then a few extra groceries to have on hand so we'll be right for food for the next few days," he said, "after all it would be a shame to let that food allowance go to waste," he added.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Smart thinking. Alright I will leave you to that and I will get us a little something going for breakfast here now." And with that Connor stood and left Cutter to get started on the food and grocery order. He put the kettle on for water and hunted around in the cabinets for the tea bags and finally found Cutter's favorite one. He also managed to find something to warm up for a quick, but not necessarily healthy, breakfast for them. "Alright, here we go. Breakfast of champions" he said with a laugh as he set the tray down on the coffee table. One it were two mugs of tea and a couple of frozen pastries he had popped into the toaster.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter finished ordering the food delivery and looked up as Connor came in carrying the tray, "oh this looks amazing Connor thank you,," he smiled as his stomach rumbled a little at the pastries and tea.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"I can hear Jenny rolling her eyes from here and I can just picture Lester face-palming at this being breakfast" Connor said with a smile that went a little sad as he thought about the team. "It's going to be weird. I mean we've spent this much time away before... but it's just so different now. Feels different. Not being able to go back if we wanted, that outside force keeping us away... it just feels wrong ya know?" Connor sighed softly as he sat down on the couch beside Cutter and grabbed his mug of tea.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter smiled fondly at that, "at least we don't have to keep a track record of what we're eating during house arrest? I know at one point Jenny did suggest that to make sure we did eat," he reached over and picked up his mug of tea, "and I think it's going to take a while to adjust, it's going to be the longest I've ever been away from the team since I first moved to Fandom and now that we're being forced to stay away ... it feels weird, I miss the team," he said quietly.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded as he sipped the tea and sat back on the couch a little more. "Im sure we will hear from them. I know we are trying to keep phone calls and emails limited so Christine and Wilder cant try and hack us. But I am sure we can find a way to still stay in touch with them during all this." He paused for a moment and gave a small shrug as he looked over at Cutter, tilting his head slightly as he did. "I might just go ahead and keep the food log, give myself something to do other than tinkering at some prototypes and whatever else we find to keep ourselves busy with..."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded at that, "I was thinking of working on the anomaly prediction model," he considered as he looked up at Connor, "I mean James did say that I could as long as I only talked to Sarah about the mythology side, I took all of my notes from the office when we lost our clearance," he said softly, "I should be able to start from scratch and Fandom's unique enough that I could find the materials that I need ... but maybe starting a food log wouldn't be a bad idea, at least Jenny and Becker wouldn't worry about us so much that way,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor smiled in agreement, it would be nice to give Jenny and the others one less thing to worry about with everything going on right now. "Working on the prediction model would be brilliant, I think! If you need any help let me know, I think it would be great to have our own that we can keep building on and using even after we surpass what we had that we had to leave behind with Christine." Connor set the mug down and grabbed one of the pasties and took a few bites, chewing thoughtfully for a few minutes. "I think I should start going through everything we managed to get out of the ARC and see what we have to work with. Should keep us busy for a few days at least as we settle down here and all."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile at that, “at least I’ve started to set things up for the anomaly research model, I mean ... it's not technically breaking the rules of our house arrest, we're still in the same building and I'm only going over there to work on it," he took another sip of his tea and then followed Connor's lead and took one of the pastries, "but I think going through what notes and tech we managed to get from the ARC sounds like a really great idea, if we make an inventory of what we have and then we can go from there if we need to buy additional materials,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Exactly and Im sure Lester could find a way to get some things to us now and then too. Becker is supposed to do check-ins with us and all so I'm sure a monthly in person drop by or something could be set up if we need something special or whatever. Pretty sure Chrsitine would buy the idea he just wants to make sure we are where we are supposed to be and all that." Connor gave a small sad sigh thinking about Becker and how hard all this had to be on him, trying to protect them and the ARC while also trying to make Helen and Wilder think he was coming around to their side to get them off Lester's back a bit. The man was definitely going above and beyond his job description- again!
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, "that could work, I just don't want to run the risk of Becker getting caught ... everything he's already done for us and if Christine suspected that he was helping us rather than checking on us ... we've already seen what Christine and Wilder will do to him," he shivered as he remembered how badly Becker had been injured after being captured by Christine and Wilder.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"That is true..." Connor said with a somber nod. "We'll have to try and be as careful as we can and just tow the line and make Christine and Wilder think we are just following along as they want us to."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"I know I don't want to give Christine and Wilder any more ammunition against us, if they suspected for one minute that we weren't honouring the terms of our house arrest ..." Cutter shivered at the idea of what Christine and Wilder would do to them, "at least they can't get to us here in Fandom,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Yes that is the one advantage we definitely have, Fandom being off the grid so to speak. Christine has to rely on Becker to check on us, she cant just pop in and do what she wants when she wants." Connor shivered a little then as he thought about what the whole house arrest thing would be like if Christine and Wilder could pop in and terrorize them whenever they wanted.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"At least that was something we were able to not give her, when she tried to interrogate us about Fandom," Cutter said softly, closing his eyes at the memory, the beating that Wilder had given him when she tried repeatedly to get him to break about Fandom ... the one safe place that he and Connor had from Christine and Wilder and Helen, "I don't want to think about what she would do if she had access to a place like Fandom,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor's hand went to his side, the bruised ribs a near-constant reminder of what Wilder was willing and capable of doing. And he closed his eyes as his gaze fell to his other hand, the one that had been broken by Helen. Christine had made good on her promise to make him plead with her to stop. It wasn't his proudest moment but he at least had not told her a thing about Fandom."Fandom is about the only thing actually more important than the ARC when it comes to keeping Christine away" he said softly. "With the ARC she can control and destroy our own reality... if she and Wilder ever had access to Fadnom... they could destroy countless realities."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter bit his lip, trembling at the thought of how close Christine had come to getting her hands on how to access Fandom, "she's dangerous enough as she is now that she and Wilder have access to the ARC and all the tech," he stared down at his gloved hands, "at least we still have the artefact and we can keep it safe from her,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"That is a very very good thing" Connor said with a nod as he tried not to think about how much worse things would be if Danny and Becker had not gotten the artifact from her. "So I think the first plans should be that inventory check, and start working on that prediction model and some of the prototype upgrades. Christine and Wilder have forced two really smart guys to spend a lot of time together. Might as well make the most of it eh?" he said with a small wink.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, giving a small smile at that, "I think between the two of us we can make some good progress on this, maybe we'll be able to give our work back to the ARC one day once we get our clearances back?" he considered, "at least it should keep us busy for the next few days as we get everything set up,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Aye, short term plan and possible long term goals. I like it." Connor grabbed another pastry off the tray with a smile, even as he felt the monitor shift against his ankle. They were going to get through this. They were together. The team was still behind them. Christine and Wilder were not going to win- there were too many of them working together to make sure that didn't happen!
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter relaxed a bit more and finished off his pastry before picking up his mug of tea again, "I like that and our food delivery shouldn't be too much longer so we can have some Chinese and start to work on our inventory and work out exactly what we have with us and what we need to get, at least it will give us something to focus on and we can help the ARC in our own way," he gave a small smile at that.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Alright then let's do this!" Connor said with a confident nod and a grin as he finished his tea. "Time to get the ARC- Fandom Version up and running!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter smiled warmly as he finished up his pastry and tea, "I definitely like the sound of that," he said, "we've got quite a few things we need to work on,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor grinned as he stood. "I'll start bringing the first few boxes and all out and we can get started," he said as he headed for his room where the hastily grabbed ARC gear and records had been stashed.