Last night, Kate had brought Bod to Kansas with her again. Considering the way things had gone the last time (both the last time he'd been here, and the last time she'd been here), it may have been considered a bold move, but Kate was convinced that if she came back this time alone, things would have been much worse.

And it wasn't like they'd be spending much time with her family, anyway. Kate was going to be leaving for her comic book store thing soon, and Bod was getting to do whatever the hell he wanted while that was going on.

There had been some mentions of a tornado watch, but those didn't bother Kate as she sat by the kitchen island, eating cereal, wearing a sheet over her princess costume. No point in dressing in regular clothes when she'd be leaving soon. And she and Bod were alone in the kitchen: Kate didn't even know where the rest of her family was, and she didn't particularly care. Although, she was pretty sure she'd seen her brother's faghag/girlfriend hanging around. Still. And that was weird.

But whatever. She adjusted her helmet and turned a little more towards Bod. "So, what do you think you're gonna do while I'm out earning money?"

	"I don't really know," Bod said, eyes going up to that helmet and staring a bit before he shook his head. "Try not to upset anyone, maybe?"
	At least she hadn't insisted on wearing the boots yet. Or the wig. "You're not gonna upset anyone," she replied, shaking her head. "And it's not like you have to stay here. I doubt you'll get lost if you go out."
	"You doubt my ability to get lost?" he asked, leaning against the counter and half smiling. "Very confident of you."
	"You have a cellphone," she pointed out, swirling the cereal around in her bowl with her spoon. "You're not gonna get lost enough to forget how to use that." Kate didn't get much further in her lazy little pep talk, because that was when Charmaine wandered in, all pigtails and bare arms and the kind of easy, idle cheer that Kate was so fond of too. She headed straight for the cupboard with the teabags in it. "Hey, kidlets."
	"Hullo, ma'am," Bod greeted, going for the polite answer because he couldn't help himself. There was just no way to break that habit.
	And that? That had Kate in danger of choking on the spoonful of cereal she'd just scooped into her mouth. Sorry, but she just found the idea of Charmaine as ma'am worthy kinda hilarious. And her reaction meant that while Bod got a bright smile from Charmaine, she got an almost glare. "What's so funny, Katie?" Kate just waved a hand to signal she was fine, and coughed a bit more.
	"Do you need some water?" Bod asked, frowning at Kate in concern. "Are you all right?"
	"She's fine, she's just easily amused," Charmaine said, dryly, reaching into the cupboard for a packet of tea. She gave Kate a glance over her shouder, though. "What's under the sheet, anyway?"
	Kate, done with her coughing, flexed her shoulders a bit. "It's my Princess Valhalla costume," she replied airily, then turned to Bod. "I'm okay. Minor choking incident."
	"It's a very odd costume," Bod shared, glancing at both the sheet and the helmet. "I don't really know how can it can be all that comfortable." Of course, he wasn't a girl normally (and the one time he had been, he'd been an awful girl) so his opinion probably wasn't really counted.
	"It's not odd," Kate argued mildly, ignoring Charmaine for the moment. "I think it's cool, and it's comfortable enough."
	Charmaine, standing there with a single tea bag in hand, wasn't happy with the answer she'd gotten, though. "Why do you do that?" she asked. Kate's gaze flicked to her again. "Do what?" "Give this willfully minimal answer," her aunt explained, sounding slightly annoyed at the whole habit, "that just requires another question." Kate glanced at Bod, as if to ask whether he thought that was something she did a lot. Even if, yes, that sounded familiar.
	"Um." Oh, he hated questions that put him in the middle especially when it was in the middle of two family members. And he wasn't always good at giving the boyfriend answer versus the logical answer. "What?" So, he gave the 'I'm going to stall' answer.
	"Don't bully the poor guy into agreeing with you." Charmaine to the rescue! Lucky Bod. "Okay? Just answer the question. What are you doing?" She even emphasized the words with some hand gestures.
	Kate rolled her eyes. "Lynda and I are setting up a table at this comic shop in KCMO to sell pictures of me for money," she drawled. "Gonna kill two birds with --"
	"Money."
	Kate nodded. "Exactamundo."
	This was all Charmaine really needed to hear. "Thank you," she breathed, turning around again to get herself a mug and a spoon, while there was the sound of the front door opening and closing. "Either of you want any tea?"
	It sounded so...sordid put like that and Bod frowned to himself, momentarily not hearing the question. He leaned against the counter again, looking thoughtful and giving no immediate answer.
	Meanwhile, Kate had gone back to eating her cereal without choking on it, and wasn't that interested in answering anyway. And Charmaine lost her interest in them when Max made his way into the kitchen, carrying a big container of water that looked like it came from a water cooler. "Hey, is that ten gallons of water or are you just happy to see me?" she wondered, glancing at him while he set the canister down on the bar that split the room into the kitchen and the dining room.
	"It's for the gay neighbors," Max replied, then nodded at Bod. "Morning. What do you think you're doing?" That last question was meant for Kate, only she failed to immediately realize that, too interested in her cereal.
	"Nothing, sir," Bod said immediately, straightening up and shaking his head. "I'm just standing here and keeping Kate company while she eats breakfast. After that, I planned on being as unobtrusive as possible." Maybe someone still remembered her father catching them all tangled up and close the last time he'd been there.
	That was enough to break Kate from her little bit of reverie, and raising her eyebrow at him. Wow. Just... wow. It was hard to tell what Max thought about that bit of babbling, though. "Okay," he said evenly. "Kate?" "I," she said, raising a spoonful of cereal as if to demonstrate what she was doing, "am eating an unbalanced breakfast before I start my day."
	Her father shook his head, unamused. "I already told you're not going to that comic book thing," he said, moving past Bod and Kate to get something from a bowl on the other side of the kitchen.
	"Dad, it is my job, okay?" Kate argued, letting her spoon drop back into her bowl. "I have to collect this woman's debt, and if embodying her avatar to comic book stores --"
	Max leaned over her shoulder on his way back from his little trip through the kitchen. "Tornado watch, in effect." He really thought that should be enough on its own.
	And when arguments like this started, it was Bod's cue to stay quiet and interfere. He didn't want to offend his girlfriend or his girlfriend's father since their wrath would be devastating to him in different ways. He ducked his head and tapped his fingers against the counter, trying to practice that whole unobtrusive thing now.
	Bod had a friend in Charmaine when it came to that. She was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, dipping the teabag in the hot water. Staying out of it, yes.
	It was Kate's job to argue. "Yes Dad," she said, calmly. "I understand. A watch. Not a warning." She felt that was an important point. "And in any case, not a tornado."
	But Max was not convinced. "I don't care," he declared, grabbing the water container again. "It's not happening. And don't think about taking Hubbard's car, I got the keys." He wiggled said keys in the air for good measure before turning and leaving.
	Kate blinked. Hubbard's keys, of course. So that was what he'd been after when he'd gone to the bowl. "... Fuck."
	Bod felt uncomfortable and he hadn't even been involved. He did raise his head after her father had left and gave her a sympathetic look for no other reason than he disliked seeing and hearing her unhappy.
	Frowning slightly, Kate glanced first at him, then at her aunt. "Will you take me?"
	"Normally yes," Charmaine replied, "but since your dad got busted for assault, I'm trying to stay on his good side." That little smile at the end of that statement once she was bringing the mug to her lips again didn't make it seem like she was all that sorry.
	"Pussy," Kate muttered darkly. Charmaine just snorted, and Kate leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "Well, whatever. I'll call Lynda and we'll sort something out."
	"Is that going to get you into trouble?" Bod asked, frowning at that. "It might be potentially dangerous while you're out."
	"There's no need to do that," Kate shrugged. She saw no problem with any of this, except the fact that her dad had taken her car keys. "Nothing's gonna happen, Bod." Charmaine merely shrugged, then wandered out of the kitchen.
	"How can you know for sure?" Bod wondered, leaning against the counter. "Weather is unpredictable."
	Kate rolled her eyes, then sighed. "Okay," she said. "If it starts looking like there's actually gonna be a tornado, which there isn't, I promise to not be stupid about it. Okay?"
	"Don't roll your eyes, Kate, I can't help being concerned," he said, frowning. "I just wanted you to be safe, you said you would, so I'm fine. Thank you."
	"Everything's gonna be fine," Kate reiterated, shaking her head. "Now, are you gonna come up and help me with the rest of my preparations?"
	"All right," Bod said, nodding and straightening up again. "Of course, I'll help."
	"Good." Kate got up, leaving her empty cereal bowl where it was, and moved to take his hand and tug him with her upstairs. "You can help me with my wings." It was not easy to get ready to be a superhero.

	A little while later, they were in Kate and her brother's bathroom. She had called Lynda and made new arrangements with her, so her plans were still on. She had already put her wig on, and was standing in front of the mirror with her various brushes and makeup items, transforming her face into that of the fabulous renegade princess. She was kind of in her element. "God, I love this golden eye shadow."
	Bod was not in his element. He was, in fact, feeling a little out of place watching her get ready. He was there though, paying attention and helping where he could but still. This was all so beyond him. "I'm sure it looks amazingly on you too."
	"It totally does," Kate replied, turning to briefly smirk at him before going back to applying the eye shadow. "I so love everything about this makeup design." She could hear the door to her brother's room open and close, and out of the corner of her eye, she could also see him pacing around his room a bit after entering, but she had more important things to deal with. Like picking up the glittery red liquid eyeliner next.
	"It's very..." Bod didn't know if he had the right words for it. Loud? Garish? Gaudy? Attractive? A turn on? "...nice." That was probably the lamest word he could have come up with. "You wear it very nicely."
	"Why thank you," Kate replied, smiling at him via the mirror. Nice was an okay word for her, right now. She had many others that were better, of course, but she was more concerned with applying the red glittery stuff with short, even strokes. Marshall, meanwhile, paced some more before coming to the bathroom door, cellphone in hand. "Did you guys know the local TV station keeps misspelling tornado as torando?" "No, I did not know that," Kate drawled, putting the eyeliner down only to pick up another item again. "How interesting."
	"They don't have editors for that sort of thing?" Bod asked, frowning and giving Marshall more of his attention than Kate was getting. "That's sloppy."
	Kate was actually pretty fine with being ignored for the moment. She could just get lost in the details of her own mirror image and work on concealing every little flaw there was. This was her art now. "I don't understand it," Marshall said, shaking his head. "It's both ignorant and irresponsible. And these are the people who are supposed to report our news?"
	"I suppose everyone's allowed mistakes," Bod said, shrugging a shoulder. "And, at first glance, I'm sure almost everyone would read that as tornado and not torando. Perhaps it won't affect anything?"
	"We have a lot of immigrants," Marshall replied, shaking his head again. "They're not going to have a clue what that means. And it's not just one mistake, it's-- it's systematic." Clearly, he was fairly passionate about this, for some reason. It even drew a glance from Kate. "I'm gonna call the station."
	Bod didn't know if that would necessarily help but he couldn't fault Marshall's determination. "Good luck," he said, turning back towards Kate and reaching out to touch that wig of hers. He couldn't help it, he'd been wanting to do that since she'd put it on.
	"Careful," Kate said, but made no move to stop him. She was working with a lipliner right then, so that was all she could say. It was a good wig, smooth and soft, but it was also pretty heavy, and she had hidden pins holding it in place.
	"I'm barely touching it," he promised but let go at her word and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's just a rather intricate wig. It looks uncomfortable to wear."
	"It's not," she shrugged as she moved on to putting some more foundation on a few spots that looked uneven. "You get used to it. It's kinda like a hat." A hat with stuff hanging off it down to her waist, maybe, but still a hat. "Just hope it's not too hot at the comic store."
	Marshall wandered back in with his phone clamped to his ear. "I thought Dad said you can't go." Yes, he'd only now noticed that she was still going. "Dad is not the boss of Princess Valhalla Hawkwind," Kate told him, straightening up some as she kept looking in the mirror. "Nor any man. Blush!" Without a word, her brother picked up said item of makeup from the table and put it in the hand she was holding out.
	Bod still wasn't sure how she was going to get away with going somewhere she wasn't supposed to go but he wasn't going to question her. He knew she'd just roll her eyes and tell him it would be fine. He wandered a little ways back towards her room, trying to keep out of her way since he was not doing much but staring and thinking.
	"How are you getting there?" Marshall wondered, glancing at Bod. "Lynda's picking me up in a taxi. Shadow." Marshall handed that to Kate too. "So, I think I saw your beard hanging out here earlier," she continued. "How'd the break up go?" Marshall fidgeted awkwardly. "It's kinda... still in process?" What? "It's been like a month," Kate replied, as incredulous as she could be when ninety percent of her attention was on her own face and fixing her eye makeup. "You can't break up with someone for a month." "She's fine with no sex," Marshall tried. "Okay," Kate said, sounding like she would've really liked to roll her eyes, right about now. "Baby steps." "But... she says she wants to be a celibate power couple." Again: what? Kate did actually manage some stronger incredulity this time. "Celibate power couple?" "Yeah." "That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."
	It was probably a good thing that Marshall's call got finally picked up at that very moment, and he turned to move more back towards his room to take it. "Yeah! Hey, uh, m-my name is Marshall Gregson --"
	Oh, how unlucky for Kate to not have a boyfriend who understood slang or even half of what that conversation was. He tried to listen and tried to follow but it proved impossible. So, he wandered back into her room and over to the window to peer quietly out of it for a few moments. Even if he had known what they were talking about, he wouldn't have had any advice to offer. Listening to Bod when it came to relationship issues was never a good thing.
	To tell the truth, it was starting to look a bit windy outside. Not quite tornado windy, but still. And there was something a little off about the color of the sky... And while Kate was finishing up, Marshall was still talking. "-- wanted to inform you that the word tornado is being sort of systematically misspelled on your broadcast." "And you say there are no heroes, ladies and gentlemen," Kate said to no one in particular, in the middle of applying bright red lipstick, "well we have a homegrown hero right here. In my bathroom." "-- Doesn't mean you can overlook spelling errors. There are many Kansans, uh, numerous immigrants for example, to whom the word torando means nothing, and they will be the first to sail away when the mighty winds blow. ... Marshall Gregson. You're welcome." Kate put her helmet on. "You are an inspiration, Moosh." She hardly even heard his muttered thanks, already heading back to her room. "Break up with Crazy Pants!" was the last thing she called out before switching her attention to Bod. "Wanna help me attach my wings?" she asked, nodding at the rumpled pile of pink fabric on her bed.
	"Uh, I don't know how," he said, glancing over at her. "I think I'd do more harm than good. None of this -- " He motioned to her costume and the wings and everything. " -- is really making sense to me so I might be more hindrance than anything."
	"Well can you at least hold my hair up while I put them on myself?" That was nice and non-confusing, right? "Or my wig, anyway."
	"I think so," he said, pushing away from the window and wandering closer. He smiled a little. "I almost don't recognize you."
	"That's kinda the point," she replied with a little smile of her own, reaching for the fabric that played the part of wings in her outfit. "Supposed to be out of this world."
	"Everyone else recognizes you like this," he commented, crossing his arms for a moment while she did whatever she had to do. "More than even I do. I feel like that's almost backwards."
	"Well, not everyone who knows me has recognized me until someone told them," Kate pointed out, idly, as she untangled the fabric, then turned her back to him so he'd lift the hair. "So I think I'm doing good job."
	"That's not -- " Bod shook his head and reached for her hair, being careful to lift it so she could do what she needed to do. "Never mind. Is this good? Does it need to be higher?"
	"Just a little bit higher, thanks," she replied, reaching to attach the little loop of string to the back of her corset. "Just gotta get this here, and then do the arm bands." She supposed she should have asked what he'd meant, but she had other priorities.
	"Right," he sighed, holding her hair up a little higher and giving an idle thought or two to those other priorities of hers. He kept his eyes on her back and shoulders and the gaudy outfit even while his mind wandered off.
	Kate worked efficiently, it was not long before she'd slipped her arms through the other golden loops on the edge of the fabric. These kinds of wings were pretty easy. Readjusting her bright red bra under the plastic breastplate, she nodded towards the boots that were on her desk. "Could you get those for me?"
	"Yes," he said, settling her wig back down before stepping over and retrieving the boots. He handed them to her without another word because, well, what did one say when holding boots of that nature?
	Kate could've come up with any number of things, but what she actually said was "Thanks." She sat down on the edge of her bed, setting one boot down beside her before starting to slide the other one on. It required a small amount of pulling and adjusting before she could start zipping it up. "So you're just gonna hang around here, huh?" she asked while she did that.
	"I don't know, I haven't decided," he said, crossing his arms again once she'd taken the boots from him. "I might take a walk. I might take a nap. I don't know."
	"Well, whatever you do, I hope you have fun," she replied, tying the weird pink strappy thing around her knee before moving on to the other boot. "And I'll be back in the afternoon."
	"Thank you," he said, shaking his head and moving back towards the window since he couldn't really help secure the boots. "I'm sure I'll see you then."
	"And then we can hang out," Kate said idly, finishing up with the second boot. "Maybe watch some movies..." Suddenly, from somewhere downstairs, there came her father's voice. "Kids? I think you better come down here and take a look at this!" And if Bod was looking out the window, he might guess what it was going to be about. The wind was starting to get serious, and the sky did not look right at all.
	"If you're not busy," Bod said, both idle and almost too quiet to hear, frowning at that sky even if he didn't really know what was happening. He knew it wasn't right but he didn't know what was wrong about it. "I don't know if you're going to be able to go, Kate," he said after a pause spent staring, still frowning at the view he was seeing.
	"Huh? How come?" Kate asked, pushing herself off the bed and onto her heels, crossing over to the window to peer over his shoulder. "... Holy shit." That did not look good. Max didn't seem to think so either. "Kids, come on, I'm not kidding!" Kate reached for Bod's hand to tug him along with her. "Guess we should go down, huh?"
	"Your father certainly seems to think so. I think we should probably listen," he said, getting a good grip on her hand and following along behind her. "Please don't trip over those boots." That was the last thing he wanted to happen.
	"I'm not gonna trip over my boots," Kate told him, glancing at him over her shoulder. And then promptly nearly tripped. "... Okay, maybe I need to keep looking where I'm going." She grabbed her phone from her nightstand before leading him out into the hallway where they were joined by her brother. "It's starting to look pretty bad out there," was his contribution.
	"I agree," he said, frowning and glancing back towards the window. "The sky looks like nothing I've seen before and I think the wind would knock down just about anyone." Here, he looked at Kate because, well, she was thin and tiny and he couldn't help it. She'd be doomed in those boots.
	Kate frowned at him. "Don't look at me, I can stand in a bit of wind." "Not this wind," Marshall said, stepping onto the staircase with the intention of going down quickly. "This wind'll take you straight to Oz." Kate rolled her eyes, then followed him, tugging Bod along. She may have needed a bit of his help to get down the stairs safely. "Well, at least I know there'd be good food there," she muttered under her breath.
	"I don't think even I could stand in this wind," he said sympathetically, making sure to keep his free hand out in case she toppled over. He followed down behind her quickly and carefully, though. "I suppose that watch from earlier wasn't wrong," he said idly, talking just to talk since he didn't want to admit a bit of nerves at something he didn't really know.
	"Mm, guess not," Kate agreed, not sounding particularly happy about that. Ugh, the storm couldn't wait just a few hours? It was going to be murder trying to get to KC. ... Because, y'know, she hadn't quite given up on going yet. Once they were getting to the bottom of the stairs, she looked around. "Where'd everybody go?" Marshall was already heading to the front door. "I think they went outside." Because that totally made sense.
	"Is that....safe?" He'd looked outside and it hadn't looked at all safe to just relax and stare. "I mean, if others have gone out there, I suppose it is but if the sky keeps looking like it was, I don't know if it will be safe for long."
	"I'm sure we'll come back inside right away," Marshall said, then stepped outside. Kate could do nothing but follow. And sure enough, all the adults were there, even Tara, who Kate didn't remember seeing all morning. Must've been in the Hubbard house. And they were all staring up at the sky while the wind howled around them, almost looking like it was about to bend and break the trees that lined their street. Kate was finding it kind of hard not to just stare, too, once the kids had joined the rest of them on the front lawn. The sky was... sort of green. She didn't remember ever seeing it like that before. "Holy shit," her father uttered. Her mother's verdict was similar. "Geez this doesn't look good." "Sure doesn't." Kate gave Bod's hand a little squeeze, looking up. "Prepare to get probed, earthlings."
	"Wow," Bod breathed, not really hearing Kate because his eyes were on the sky. "I've never seen anything like that." Storms, severe and not, he'd seen many times but this was something entirely different. He hadn't ever seen a sky look like that before.
	"The sky is so green," Marshall said, half awed, half concerned, vocalizing what they were all thinking. Kate thought it was about as pretty as it was worrying. "Greenage is not a good sign, not at all," their father said, calm but serious. He was quick to make a decision. "We gotta go to the basement." He didn't wait to start moving; he started towards the house next door. "Where are you going?" Tara called out after him. "Max!" He stopped and turned around, motioning them to follow him. "Hubbard's basement, it's bigger," he explained. "Come on, let's go!" Marshall and Tara followed him immediately, whereas Kate hesitated for a moment, looking down at her phone, then around at the gathering storm. And then she, too, was moving, again pulling Bod by the hand. Charmaine, for her part, appeared to be glued to the spot where she was standing.
	Bod nearly tripped when she started pulling him because he'd been too busy staring at the sky to realize she'd started moving. He recovered quickly, though, and followed quickly behind Kate and her extravagant costume. He kept glancing up at the sky, though, almost expecting the bottom to just drop out at any moment. It looked like something very bad was about to emerge from it and he almost wanted to see it.
	Kate wasn't looking at the sky anymore. She was just staring intently at the backs of her brother and her father ahead of them. They went past Tara who'd stopped to call out to Charmaine, still standing on their lawn, but Kate ignored that. She was kind of busy trying to move quickly in her impractical boots, trying to keep her helmet on with the hand that was simultaneously clutching her phone, while still holding Bod's hand with the other. Good thing it wasn't long before they were in the Hubbard house (and surrounded by its weird seventies vibe; Kate wasn't sure how she could still notice that even at a time like this) and heading for the basement door. "Come on guys, down here," Max was saying. "Should be safe."
	Bod really hoped it was safe and he really wished Kate hadn't gotten as far as putting on those boots because he was worried she was just going to tip over at any moment. Still, he didn't say that. He kept silent and kept following her and hoped that her father was right about the basement. He didn't notice the decor though, too busy trying to settle his slightly flared nerves.
	He wouldn't have gotten to enjoy it too long, anyway, since they started their descent into the basement, and it wasn't particularly attractive. Just your regular, dusty basement, Kate groaned. "How long are we gonna have to shit it out down in this hole?" Really, it was probably a good sign that she could complain already. Couldn't be in too much of a shock over things.
	"It's usually just a half hour," Tara offered from a little further up the stairs, having caught up with them already. After a pause, she added, "I feel like i should point out this is usually a... less dramatic neighborhood." Not all dead neighbors and crazy weather. That comment was definitely directed Bod.
	Bod half smiled when he realized that comment was meant for him and shook his head. "I just have a timing for the dramatic, I suppose. I don't mind, really." He didn't. For all that last time had exhausted him mentally and this time was making him nervous, he didn't mind. He'd come out just fine last time and he was sure this time wouldn't be any different. "Weather is supremely unpredictable," he added, shrugging. "And it feels quite safe down here. This will just be a new experience for me."
	Tara offered him a half smile of her own once they'd made it into the basement proper. There was a large area that was fairly empty save for the shelves on the walls, and a little alcove a little off to the side. "Well, that's a commendable attitude to have," she said. "And I'm sure it'll only be a while." Meanwhile, Kate let go of his hand to first readjust her helmet and then look at her phone. "Well, it better be," she said, "because my thing starts at ten, and Lynda should be picking me up --"
	"'Less Lynda has a deathwish," Max interrupted her, already setting out chairs for them to sit in, "I'm pretty sure she's staying at home, and if she's going out in this she's crazy and you can't go with her."
	Kate just rolled her eyes again. "Got it, Pop," she replied dryly, fiddling with her phone some more. "Thanks."
	Bod honestly did wonder how she could keep thinking of that right now but he didn't say anything out loud. Since she'd let go of his hand, he crossed his arms and took a few steps away just to walk off some of his nerves and to take a better look around the basement. He listened to see if he could hear the wind howling outside and let his mind wander around since there wasn't any apparent danger for the moment.
	The wind was definitely still there. There was even a small window on one of the walls, high up near the ceiling, with the branches of a bush beating against it. It did not sound like the wind was getting any less strong. Kate ducked into the alcove to try and call Lynda. To do that, she moved past her brother who was standing by the stairs, looking up. Charmaine had apparently frozen again. "Are you coming, Aunt Charmaine?" Marshall called up the stairs. When that had no effect, he turned around. "Dad! Aunt Charmaine won't come down." Max looked exasperated, but made his way to and up the stairs, while Tara took on his task of finding them all seats. "Come on, let's go, get down here." Some more words were exchanged, but they were muffled by the walls, and soon enough Charmaine made her way down the stairs, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Max didn't immediately follow, though. Instead, there seemed to be still more conversation: more people had shown up to seek shelter from the storm. "Looks like we're popular," Tara noted as she unfolded a chair, trying to keep the atmosphere light. She was facing kind of a tough crowd for that, though. Marshall was fidgeting uncertainly, Charmaine was standing almost in the middle of the room with her arms around herself, and Kate was still leaving a message to Lynda. None of them seemed to be in the mood for joking around.
	If Bod hadn't been utterly inept in the ways of joking, he might have joined in but his attempts would have fallen flat. He did step towards Kate's mother while saying, "Would you like some help with that?" Everyone else seemed to be doing their own thing and since he'd stopped listening to the wind outside, he decided that he'd be best served for helping where he could. Apparently, he was helping all the Gregson women today. Or close to it.
	"Yeah, thanks," Tara replied with a smile that... may have actually had a hint of nervousness to it. Could've been that everyone else's jitteriness was getting to her, too. "Could you get that crate from over there?" This was about the time Max finally made it down the stairs with the new added members to their little basement party. It was Ted and Hany, the gay couple they'd all first met the night of Mr. Hubbard's suicide. "Greetings, all," Ted said, far too cheerful for this particular basement, while Hany offered everyone a half smile. "We brought day old bagels and Nutella."
	Having made their grand entrance, they engaged in some idle, tornado related chatter with Tara, while Kate slinked back into the main area and towards Bod, phone in one hand, helmet in the other. "I couldn't reach Lynda."
	"I think she'll forgive you, Kate," Bod said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her while wandering over to pick up the aforementioned crate so he could bring it back towards the assembled chairs. "There's a rather bad situation outside so I think you'll be forgiven for being out of contact and not reaching her," he elaborated, setting the crate down. "Relax."
	"I just wanted to let her know where I was," Kate said, frowning as she glanced around the room, at everyone else and the less than fabulous setting. If there were rats down here she was going to have a shitfit. "'Cause this might blow over soon."
	"Kate," he repeated, shaking his head and sitting down on the crate. "You will have time to tell her where you are when things clear up and I'm sure you can do whatever it is you were going to do later." He slid his hands through his hair and rested his elbows on his knees. "It will be fine."
	"You think so?" Kate didn't sound like she thought so. But she switched her helmet to the hand with the phone in it, so she could hold the now free one out for him.
	"Yes, but you really need to stop obsessing about it right now," said Bod, reaching to take the offered hand. "There's nothing to be done save for waiting."
	Kate said nothing, just sighed as she laced her fingers with his. Waiting. Right. Maybe she could do that, if she had to. She just hoped it wouldn't be long.

[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Part one of two, preplayed with the fantabulous there_was_life, taken and modified from United States of Tara S02E06 'Torando!'. I love this episode.]