Roundabout Route [Rachel Grey]

[Emma Frost]

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It was a glorious summer evening and for the season they were in, the weather was more than pleasant. The sky was clear for once and beyond the blackened sky, a thousand glistening stars lit up the night with a brilliant luminescence. It had been some time since the mutant lost her extraordinary ability to read minds and broadcast her thoughts but despite how long it had been, whether weeks or months, the fact did not change that Emma was terribly depressed about it. She supposed that it was comforting in that she had not lost her ability to transform into her organic diamond form but without her telepathy and psionics, the blonde felt as though she had been robbed of her speech entirely; after all, growing up with telepathic powers and the fact that she relied on them so heavily in the past only made it that much harder for the twenty-nine year-old woman to move on from her losses. She was still upset with Scott as he had been the one responsible for taking away Emma's share of the Phoenix Force violently so it was not as if she had anybody around to talk to about her grievances but she supposed it could have been worse. Clad in her Extinction Team uniform, Emma walked the vacant streets alone. Black thigh-high boots were enough to conceal most of the skin on her leg and a three-quarter length sleeve coupled with long black gloves hid away most of her arm. However, those two facts did not cover up the revealing opening in the front of her costume that not only put her navel on display for all who dared to glance in her direction but also did not do a great job in hiding her breasts or cleavage. This was not new to Emma, though. She had gotten used to wearing other like costumes in the past and over the years, had grown rather comfy in her skin (so to speak); some cleavage here and a bit of leg there was not going to kill anybody. Besides, it was much more comfortable for her in almost no clothing at all than in latex bodysuits that made even breathing a difficult endeavor for one's skin. If she had to be honest, the ex-telepath actually missed her racier getups; they were even more scandalous but covered up less of her figure. Besides, it did not really do her any good covering up every last inch of her body; when she transformed into her organic diamond form, Emma never seemed to take any serious damage but her clothing was not nearly as invulnerable as she was. Emma came to a stop outside one of those fancy boutiques that decorated their front windows with some extravagantly garbed mannequins. Blue eyes looked past the glass at the plastic figures and wished that she could have afforded to shop and worry only about trivial things like that right now but being one of the most wanted people on the planet made living an subtle life more challenging than one might believe. Instead she found her eyes wandering to the crowds around her. Despite it being well past nine at night, the streets were still busy with activity. "We once fought to make this planet a better place for humans and mutants alike and we are branded as dangerous criminals while these insects are free to act as they please." Emma mused aloud. There was no use complaining about it now, though. Her eyes turned away from the boutique window and to the starry sky above her. It was a relaxing view to say the least; had it not been for the gentle and soothing atmosphere, the blonde might have lost it already but then again, the reason for her last minute roundabout route to the harbor was because of how beautiful the sky looked tonight. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

Rachel tossed and turned in bed. She was having a hard time sleeping. Again. She turned over for the hundredth time, lying face down on the bed with her pillow pulled taut over the back of her head. She resisted the urge to scream as everyone in the manor was just too damned loud. No, it wasn't the music being played in Bobby's room, or the movie Kitty was watching. It wasn't anyone fighting or Logan on a rampage. It was something else entirely that was keeping Rachel awake, something that almost no one else in the manor had a problem with.

It was their dreams.

The dreams of the other students screamed across the psionic plane, and it felt as if a hundred voices were all yelling at her at the same time. Rachel's telepathic powers were Omega level, beyond the ability of Cerebra to even measure properly. This came with a number of prices to pay, and this was one of them. She grit her teeth as she heard one of the student's dreams practically throb in her head, and she finally threw the pillow across the room as she sat up in bed, planting her feet down on the floor as she clutched her temples with both hands and ran her fingers into her disheveled red hair. She panted, angrily throwing the blankets back a she stood and began to throw her clothing on. She wasn't getting to sleep anytime soon. Not here, anyways. She let out an annoyed grunt as she pulled her long red coat on, her hound marks reflecting in the mirror as she threw her bedroom door open and walked down to the balcony at the hallway. Rachel lept to the top of the railing, crouching down before she lept upward again into the sky as her telekinesis lifted her into the air to fly. She sped across the blackness of the night's sky, and sighed heavily as the voices of the manor quieted down. She felt the thoughts fade as she flew, heading up and over the treeline as she flew.

That was when she felt it. A presence she hadn't felt in quite some time. It was a presence that had been inside her head before, and a presence she would never forget.

Emma Frost.

Rachel turned and streaked across the clouds in a red blur as her psionic tracking began to hone in on Emma's location. Rachel was once what was called a Hound, a prototype tracker that Ahab mind-controlled into hunting down her own kind. With his programming and her latent telepathy, she was the foremost tracker of mutants in the world. Emma's presence was like a beacon, a light flaring out against the darkness of the psionic silence as she drew it in, following it like a moth to a flame. She lost all track of time, flying at very high speeds as the dim speck of San Francisco lit up her mental radar. She came in slowly, seeing the rolling hills of the city as she came in.

"We once fought to make this planet a better place for humans and mutants alike and we are branded as dangerous criminals while these insects are free to act as they please."

Rachel's boots stepped down behind Emma without a sound, looking at the blonde from behind her as her voice cut out against the city's backdrop noise.

"So, it is true. Your telepathy is shattered. The Emma Frost that put me in my place would never have gotten snuck up on." she says as she stands in her full red uniform, her Hound marks unashamedly displayed where once she hid them from the public.

[Emma Frost]

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For what she lacked in company, Emma made do with the abundance of stars that hung from above her. The view was a spectacular and most calming one; it was exactly what she needed to distract her mind from matters about more troublesome things. She was doing a good job in keeping her thoughts free from stressful ideas until a familiar voice rose from behind the blonde. The mutant was slightly startled by the sudden appearance of Rachel Grey from out of the blue but was not so much shocked to see her as she was irritated by the mention of having lost her telepathic powers. A deep frown embedded on Emma's face before she even turned around to face her unannounced guest. "Yes, well, I do my best not to think too much about it." Emma replied with melancholy and a mix of sadness in the tone of her voice. Rachel Grey, the biological daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey; she was not from this universe-the redhead came from an alternate timeline. The two telepaths had once clashed in the past and despite her vast superiority, Emma managed to come out on top. In spite of the fact that she had won in their psychic duel, instead of "taking no prisoners", the blonde volunteered to mentor the young lady who reluctantly agreed. Since then, both of them had grown to get along with one another. However, since losing her telepathy, Emma had not been in contact with Rachel until now. "You're not here to take me in are you?" She queried, thinking that if that was the case, the White Queen was not going to let her assailant succeed without at least putting up a fight. The blonde might have been without her telepathic powers and the ability to fight back on the astral plane but as she was still able to access her diamond form, that would be more than enough for somebody who was trained in hand-to-hand combat to put up some resistance to being captured. Emma did not need to warn Rachel in the case that she was here for a fight that the blonde did not plan on peacefully surrendering even if they had been on good terms previously; she was not going to be anybody's prisoner again. As if Rachel had not come for her, the blonde took a walk down the long stretch of pavement with both of her hands tucked away in the pockets of her black long coat. Despite how she had voiced her concern for being captured, Emma did not look all too worried about Rachel. It might have been from the fact that the two of them shared a special connection or it could have been the ability to read people just from their expressions that Emma had picked up during all those years spent reading peoples' minds. In any case, it did not feel like she was going to be ambushed right around the corner... but there had been times in the past where she was wrong; here was to hoping this was not one of those times. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

Rachel stood proudly before Emma as every single person around them seemed to just... ignore them. There should have been a number of San Francisco citizens startled at the arrival of one of the X-Men, or even a now nationally known mutant terrorist like Emma Frost. But the people didn't seem to care. A woman walking her dog walked right towards Emma, and then turned and crossed the street right before she would bump into her. There appeared to be a "zone" around the two of them to which no other passerby would go, almost invisibly. It was a special form of telepathic invisibility, and Emma knew it well. She did after all, teach it to Rachel herself (Uncanny X-Men #452!). It was a jarring sensation for Rachel, who didn't so much learn the trick from Emma in a classroom, the former White Queen had simply DOWNLOADED it into her brain! It was in full use now, as the two mutant women might as well be post office drop-off boxes or newspaper vending machines.

If and when Emma's power would flicker, the faintest hint of Rachel's telepathic energy signature would hint about her eyes.

"No, Emma... I'm not here to bring you in. There's no Blackbird behind the stadium, Anna and Betsy aren't waiting in the wings. I'm not a thug for the Avengers. I don't work for them, and personally I think what your team did to them in Australia was hilarious." (Frozen in time by their student Tempus, Uncanny X-Men #3!) Rachel said as she crossed her arms, her eyes the usual intense energy and emotion she almost always wore. "Besides, if I took you in I don't think Dad would forgive me." she adds, knowing that as much as it pained her soul to admit it, Emma and Scott's relationship had been given Jean's blessing before she passed away.

"No, I'm here to make sure you and the others aren't here to pull another stunt like you did at that college in Michigan recently." (Uncanny X-Men #11) she says cautiously.

[Emma Frost]

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"No, Emma... I'm not here to bring you in." Rachel assured the blonde with crossed arms against her chest. "Besides, if I took you in I don't think Dad would forgive me." She smiled at the remark about Cyclops being unhappy with the idea of having Emma detained again; he was cruel to take away her portion of the Phoenix Force the way he did back t hen but the ex-telepath was beginning to come around. Another smirk rose up on her face when Rachel brought up the incident that took place at a college in Michigan; actually, the whole thing happened not too long ago but Emma could guarantee Rachel that she was not out on the streets tonight in search for trouble. No, all she wanted this fine evening was some peace and quiet and with some telepathic aid from Rachel, it was easily achieved. The technique she used to "zone out" everybody and telepathically cloak was very reminiscent of the way Emma had done it in the past; that was no surprise though since she was the one who "taught" it to the young mutant in the first place. "Well, rest assured, Sugar, that I am not out looking for trouble tonight." She paused for a second to take in a deep breath of fresh air. "No, not tonight." Now that Scott's name had been raised, Emma could not help but to wonder where he had run off to as of late. The Extinction Team had divided themselves and gone their separate ways temporarily. It was not a tactic that was unheard of; since they had all been highly sought after by the federal government, it was just a smart plan to spread themselves thin in order to make discovering their whereabouts even more challenging. In the meantime Emma went on to pretend as if she had not noticed the mental field in which she was practically invisible to the outside world. The pair went continued to walk around and slowly headed for the harbor to clear Emma's mind just like the blonde had planned for originally. It was not a long ways away by now but another ten or fifteen minutes was a must. "So, tell me about all the daring things you have done in my absence, darling. You must have had some exciting things happen to you since we last spoke." How long it had been since the last time the two of them had a real second to sit down and talk with each other was far too great for the White Queen to measure on her two hands and feet alone. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

Rachel's hair was unkempt as usual, blowing faintly in the San Francisco wind as the air came about the both of them and she made her stroll with the former member of the Hellfire Club. It was Emma herself that once made Rachel her White Warrior Princess, the personal protector of the White Queen. She didn't much care for the Hellfire Club, but she had to admit the outfit was pretty cool to wear. She listened to Emma's casual enjoyment of the weather of all things, and Rachel realized at how much breakneck speed things had been moving for her lately. The school was not the same after losing her mother, and Xaiver, and Cyclops. The school was short on experienced X-Men it seemed...

"You mean after I gut-checked Captain America with his own shield and blocked Thor's hammer with a telekinetically reinforced forearm?" she asked casually. "Trying to keep the students ready, I suppose. When you have the first five X-Men temporally displaced, it makes the issue of what to do with them.... complicated. I would know."[/b][/color] she says with a faint sense of bitterness in her voice.

[Emma Frost]

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"You mean after I gut-checked Captain America with his own shield and blocked Thor's hammer with a telekinetically reinforced forearm? Trying to keep the students ready, I suppose. When you have the first five X-Men temporarily displaced, it makes the issue of what to do with them... complicated." Rachel's voice sounded almost unpleasant. "I would know." She added. Emma had been walking ahead so her face could not be seen nor could her frown. It was hard for her to get along with Rachel from time to time since she could not help but to feel guilty about her feelings for Scott. It was not like the blonde could help it, though; she had fallen so madly in love with the mutant that the feeling was so impossible to fight and bear alone that she had to go and confess them to Logan of all people! Coming from a universe where her parents were Scott Summers and Jean Grey meant that seeing her father with another woman must have been an unusual and maybe even terrible feeling but it was not as if Emma could do anything about her love for the man even if she wanted to in the first place. So, instead of saying she was sorry, she hid away her guilt even though it was likely that the telepath had already picked up on it. "That's terribly unfortunate." She said in a rather cold and uncaring voice but then paused to maul over her own words. Emma had learned to hide her emotions over the years behind a facade of cold and unforgiving words but with Rachel it was different. She genuinely cared about the telepath even if she was from a different dimension; that was why she offered to train her in the first place. With Jean gone and nobody else capable of mentoring her, it only made sense for the White Queen to step up and for once, do something right by somebody else. "But I'm sure you're doing just fine, darling." She said in a suddenly warmer tone of voice. "Is that why you're only out now at this hour?" Emma asked, starting to sound more concerned for her "step daughter" by the minute. At that notion the blonde stopped in her tracks and turned her head so that Rachel was visible out the corner of her eye. "What else is the matter, Rachel?" ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

Rachel's demeanor was always one of total honesty. Deceit was never her style. As an Omega level telepath, people found it impossible to lie to her and that in turn made it hard for her to understand the concept of lying in the first place. Her powers manifested when she was 14, in a world where mutants needed each other so badly that open honesty meant survival. It was only after coming to Earth 616 did she realize how petty even her own kind could be sometimes. It left her as a rather brash, bold, and often rude and blunt person. But that's just the way she preferred things. Straight, honest, and to the point. She grumbled faintly under her breath as Emma asked her those questions, her hands clenched into small fists at her sides.

"I don't usually fly from New York to California for fun, but.. tonight I needed to get out of there. The dreams were just so frelling LOUD." she commented, something that few people would understand. Fortunately, Emma is (or was) a telepath and could likely relate. Rachel's movements were rapid and deliberate, and it was clear she wasn't enjoying their "stroll", as she held the same posture she would if she were storming up the ramp of the SR-71.

"A few years ago, I was the junior girl on the team, listening to the vets all talk about how I wasn't ready. Now I'm teaching frelling classes. It's overwhelming. Not the staredown-Nimrod-and-live-to-tell-about-it kind of overwhelming. Just.. the responsibility. I'm 22 and I got frelling 17 year olds calling me "ma'am" on school grounds." she adds.

[Emma Frost]

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"I don't usually fly from New York to California for fun, but... tonight I needed to get out of there. The dreams were just so frelling LOUD." Emma was not surprised. She remembered a time when her mutant powers were far too great for her to successfully control at all times and hearing too much "background noise" was a common side effect of powers like her own. It had only been shortly after she reached puberty did the blonde learn how to tune out the sounds of other peoples' thoughts. It was funny because the trick was not to tune all of them out completely but rather to focus on one peaceful and calming thought instead. Before she could share that idea with her step daughter, though, Rachel went on to talk about how teaching at the institute was some surreal experience and kind of overwhelming. While she had gone through a lot in her day, hopping over to the next universe was not a sentiment Emma could relate to and was lacking when it came to helping the redhead figure things out in relation to her troubles at the school. But that did not mean she did not believe in the young lady. Rachel, although unusual for somebody her age, was a remarkable person and learned rather quickly so it was no lie to suggest that she would likely get a hang of things soon if she had not already. "I'm sure you'll figure out everything in time, Sugar." The blonde said in a surprisingly endearing voice, especially for her, while a hand reached out for Rachel's. "As for sleeping, why don't you try to focus on one person's dreams instead? Listen. Listen carefully and find something peaceful and calming. Don't try and fight all of it at once." By now they were already close to the harbor. Emma could see the seafront from here and could feel the brisk waves of cold air brushing against the exposed parts of her thighs, arms, navel, and chest. Goosebumps began to appear across the exposed regions along her breasts but cold temperatures were the last thing to bother somebody who had grown so accustomed to dressing the way she did; it was only a simple bother to her now. "Are you finding everybody at the academy to be welcoming?" She asked, forgetting to raise that question from the start. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

The outfit that Rachel wore covered her almost completely. It left only her fingers exposed at the ends of her gloves, and fit her attitude perfectly. She couldn't pull off what Emma was wearing, but she was also rather tired of the skirts she was wearing back when she was tagging around in her mom's old green and yellow. Ugh. Rachel HATED green. She had once scared the hell out of Excalibur once when she returned to Earth in the colors of the Dark Phoenix. Brian nearly panicked until she assured him she hadn't succumbed to Phoenix Psychosis like others often do. What can she say? She liked red.

"I... guess. Students are mostly either sycophants, rebels, or non-entities. They don't talk to us on the same level than you and I talk, or me and the rest of my team. There's a distance there, something hard to ignore when they're calling you Professor or "Miss". I'll get used to it. It's just... weird. Life moves pretty fast. I'm barely old enough to buy beer, but I've personally crushed a Shi'ar Battlecruiser with my mind." she quips, watching as the harbor gets closer and closer in the distance. Rachel had not even noticed where they were heading in the wake of their conversation.

[Emma Frost]

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The pair went on walking toward the harbor. The brisk air was a refreshing feeling despite the array of Goosebumps it left along the exposed parts of Emma's body. As soon as they were back on the move, her hands pulled away from Rachel and went back to the long coat's deep pockets. The blonde's shoulder-length hair danced daintily against the brush of the wind, forcing the twenty-nine year-old woman to fix the strands that had blown out of place. The redhead went on to talk about how talking to the students was different than talking with Emma or the rest of her team. Of course it was different though, Frost mused. They were her students so it was only natural for them to refer to her as "Professor" or "Miss". It was going to take some time for the young adult to get used to the concept but Emma was confident that Rachel could do it. "I'm barely old enough to buy beer but I've personally crushed a Shi'ar Battlecruiser with my mind." Emma smirked. "Show off." She teased, not exactly meaning it in an offensive way. She was saddened to be reminded again about the loss of her telepathic powers but smiled in hopes that Rachel had not been reading her thoughts. "Well, other than feeling out of your time and hearing everybody's thoughts in their sleep, I imagine it is a much more peaceful lifestyle than the one I have come to grown accustomed to in recent times. Make no mistake, I know my own doings landed me in this... predicament of mine, but there are some days that make me feel like resisting capture is pointless." The one fact that she did not share was the fact that today was one of those days. Without anybody to turn to, Emma was alone and being third on the federal government's wanted list forced her to go into hiding; she barely had time for any of the luxuries she was used to anymore. Despite being the strong character that she was, everybody had a limit. For Emma, hers laid at the loss of her telepathy and isolation from the rest of her friends and lover, Scott Summers. She could have done without her organic diamond form but losing her telepathy was like losing a part of her soul. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

(Scumbag Emma. Talks about her shoulder-length hair when it clearly goes down to her cleavage!)

Rachel let out a half smiling scoff as Emma poked her with her show off comment. Rachel rolled her shoulder a little as she made a dismissive wave with her fingerless gloved hand. "Oh, like you don't show off?" she asks with an unreadable tone before looking down at the ground and putting her hands in her pockets. "Nah. Showing off is.... fun. That... that was just watching Emperor Vulcan nearly ruin the galaxy with his insanity. I had to do something, and in the end, we pretty much lost anyway. Grandpa died, and Alex and Lorna wound up God knows where...." she mused, shaking her head of the loose thoughts. She pulled some hair out of her eyes, and then suddenly Emma said something that struck a nerve with her.

Rachel stopped at that and spun on a heel as she turned and faced Emma directly. Rachel looked angry, and downright offended. "What.. are you... have you lost your frelling mind?!" [/color]she exclaims. "No point in resisting capture? If I hadn't resisted capture, I'd still be on my hands and knees with a chain around my neck hunting down other mutants at Ahab's beck and call!" she snarled angrily. Rachel had been born to a world of pure hell for mutantkind. The idea of going quietly into the night caused the fires of her soul to burn with anger and hatred, two emotions that acted as a form of mental armor against the horrors of the universe. The thought of surrendering to the nameless forces of the universe made her very essence lash out in defiance.

[Emma Frost]

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"Oh, like you don't show off?" "Touché." Emma said with a smirk. Rachel was right. Heck, even now as they stood next to each other on their way to the harbor, the blonde was showing off; her entire costume was solid evidence of that fact. Despite being out in a public place, Emma's uniform went on to reveal much of her navel and chest. She received the occasional odd glance from time to time but at least so far, nobody was able to point her out as one of the world's most wanted criminals which was a plus. They had arrived at the seafront right as Emma's last remark about wanting to give up sometimes escaped from her lips, causing Rachel to stop in her tracks and don a rather angry looking expression. The blonde did not need telepathy to tell that it was something she said that set off the redhead. "Oh, Sugar." She said with a forlorn look on her face. Emma did not expect Rachel to understand, but she certainly did not feel the need to explain her sentiments to her step daughter. It was one thing to resist capture but after she found out that her powers had abandoned her, keeping up the motivation she needed to push on was easier said than done. Of course she would never actually give in to any attacker no matter what the circumstances but that was also something she was not going to confess that fact to Rachel either. Instead, she smiled a simple smile back at the redhead and chose to leave things at that. There was no point in talking about something Rachel did not understand and could not sympathize with. "But I am glad you resisted." The blonde added, trying to change the topic of conversation. While not Jean Grey's biggest fan, Emma did not show any enmity towards Rachel and while their relationship started on a rocky note, things had smoothed out in recent times. A genuine smile showed that she really meant well too; to be honest, having another telepath here to talk to about... well, anything, was relieving so much pent up stress that Emma had carried in solitude since losing her primary mutant power and the blonde was grateful. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS

[Rachel Grey]

Rachel's anger wasn't directly caused by Emma. She had just spent such time under the boot of oppression that the very IDEA of giving up made her emotions lash out in a manner of pure instinct. Emma put on that smile, that tone, and Rachel sighed as she brought a gloved hand to the bridge of her nose. "Don't.. don't do that. Just... don't." she says before lowering the hand and directing the flat of her palm at her. "That trick might work on the Hellions but I'm not one of the New Mutants. You can lie to your students, you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me."[/b][/i] Rachel said as she straightened up a bit and concentrated, her energy signature flaring up faintly in a pinkish-red where her telepathy pushed outward. Her telepathic powers pushed out from her consciousness, wrapping itself around Emma's mind and gently and soothingly bonding the two of them in a telepathic link that would seep in with a soft and sensual touch to it.

~"There. Is this better?"~[/b][/i] Rachel asks her telepathically, her voice echoing faintly in Emma's mind as she attempted to create a psionic rapport, hoping that the mental link would ease some of Emma's apprehension at being "psychically deaf" for the time being.

[Emma Frost]

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Despite Emma's efforts to keep her true feelings from Rachel, the redhead had either read the blonde's mind or had known her too well just to let it slide. "Don't... don't do that. Just... don't. That trick might work on the Hellions but I'm not one of the New Mutants. You can lie to your students, you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me." Emma still smiled, though for a different reason this time. Rare was the number of people who could see through her facade whenever she put one on and Rachel was one of those few rare people. Just for a minute, the former telepath was reminded what it was like to be around somebody else who genuinely understood here. "There. Is this better?" Rachel asked in thought, echoing through Emma's head. She had established a sort of psychic link, allowing the two young ladies to speak without words, to hear without their ears. Again the blonde smiled, reached out with her hand to touch the redhead's slightly and then replied in thought, "Thank you, Rachel." She supposed that she was just having another rough day. Emma regained her composure soon after and decided that talking about her recent troubles was not a way to make this evening excursion a pleasant one like she had intended for in the first place. "So, you said that you could not sleep, but why San Francisco of all places?" The blonde asked, finally moving on from the last topic. ♕ TAG: RACHEL GREY ♕ RPN: WEARING THIS