Overland Park, KS, Wednesday, Late Morning to Late Afternoon

[vanillajello]

Kate had had high hopes that they'd be out of the basement in thirty minutes, maybe a little over. But no such luck. Of course not. Nearly two hours later and they were still there, the storm raging outside and showing absolutely no signs of going away.

They were sitting in a circle, some on chairs, some on crates and whatever else seat-like they'd found. Kate had a crate with a blanket over it. How luxurious. She surveyed the room and the people in it, her gaze flicking from person to person. Her mother on her right-hand side, looking mildly uncomfortable; then her brother, awkward and with a permanent frown of worry on his face; Charmaine, looking ready to puke; her dad, munching on a bagel all stoic and calm, so obviously trying to be a leader; then Ted, spreading Nutella on a bagel of his own, with Hany beside him; and then finally Bod, on her left-hand side.

They'd all run out of things to say a while ago, and the mood was not the greatest, nor the most relaxed.

Kate looked down at her phone again.

	Bod was in the middle of a group of people he didn't really know so that meant he wasn't going to be the one to try and start a conversation. He still had his elbows on his knees and was even clapping lightly every so often to keep himself grounded. He glanced over at Kate a few times, still wearing that silly costume and then sighed when he saw her paying that much attention to her phone. His visits to Kansas were doomed to be dramatic each time, Bod guessed.
	Maybe Kate had made fun of Kansas to him one too many times and now it felt it was time to prove her wrong. That was the theory she'd been idly formulating for a while now. Not like she had anything else to do. Marshall was the one to break the silence. "What's the matter, Aunt Charmaine?" If possible, Charmaine looked even more uncomfortable at having attention drawn to herself. "Nothing, I just don't like basements," she said with a quick shake of her head, and took a deep breath.
	"Sounds perfectly normal to me," Hany offered. "Confined spaces are challenging."
	Kate was not in the mood for being anywhere near that nice. "Is it the prospect of confronting home-canned veggies," she drawled, glancing up, "or the drains in the floor that set you off?" Her mother said her name disapprovingly for that. It was a pretty weak attempt at scolding.
	Bod shot her a look for that one, wondering how she could find it in her to be mean at a time like this especially after her aunt had just said she was having an issue with being enclosed. He stayed quiet though, letting the look do for now before turning his attention back to the dusty ground and his shoes and the shoes of everyone else. He could still hear the wind outside and really hoped that everyone who wasn't sheltered was all right.
	Kate, unfortunately, would've gladly told him that being mean was easy especially at a time like this. She'd had plans. She'd had big plans, and now some fucking storm was ruining it. She was not happy, and didn't particularly care whether anyone else was, either. But she said nothing more.
	Charmaine shook her head again. "I just don't like being under ground, that's all."
	Beside Kate, Tara joined the conversation. "Ah, shit..." Well, someone with Tara's voice, anyway, only speaking lower than usual, and already in those two words there was a subtle hint of a Southern drawl that became more pronounced as she continued. "I better get over to the Home Depot, snag some masonite to cover Pammy's windows." By this point, Kate didn't really need to see her mother to know her whole posture had changed, loosened up, become that of an almost a caricature of a macho man. Still, she couldn't help turning and looking. ... Yep, it was Buck. She'd recognize that snarl anywhere. "That glass'll cut those girls right up."
	"Here we go," Kate groaned, one hand moving to rub at her temple.
	Bod, however, glanced over at her mother because this was something he hadn't yet seen. He'd almost forgotten that her mother was struggling with this since he hadn't seen it at all when visiting. Now, apparently, he was. He glanced over at Kate, frowning at her reaction and then turning his attention back to her mother. He sat up a little straighter for some reason, almost like he was trying to seem halfway decent and, well, nice. He didn't know why.
	That was good, really, because apparently Tara wasn't satisfied with just one alter emerging, oh no. Her eyes closed and it was like a harsh shudder went through her as she took an uneven breath, then opened her eyes and straightened up, prim and proper. Kate was watching now, and she didn't need three guesses to know which this one was, either. "Oh," Alice cooed, in that helium-y fairytale princess voice of hers, as she looked around the room. "Hello everybody."
	Max and Charmaine were still just trying to come to terms with the sudden changes, and Ted and Hany were just staring. Marshall, ever the polite one, answered uncertainly, "Hi Alice."
	"Oh my God," Hany said, "this thing is happening to your mom."
	"Thing is happening to my mom, yes," Marshall agreed weakly, while Alice smiled at them all. "This reminds me of those churchs lock-ins I attended as a girl," she chirped, then waggled her finger playfully. "No necking, children!" "We'll try and restrain ourselves," Kate muttered, but Alice ignored her, because she'd just spotted Bod. He got an especially sweet smile. "Hello young man, I do not believe we've met," she said, and even extended a hand to him, past Kate who had to lean back some, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Alice."
	"Hullo, ma'am," Bod said, finding it almost eerie how much Alice and Kate (when she was being influenced by the island) sounded the same. He took the offered hand all while glancing at Kate out of the corner of his eye. "I'm Bod," he added after a moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kate's -- " Alice was the...right, he remembered Kate's stories about Alice. " -- friend."
	"A pleasure to meet you too, Bod," Alice said, smile firmly in place as she released his hand after just the appropriate time. "And it is certainly good to see Kate has managed to acquire such a polite young man as a friend." Between them, Kate had tensed up quite a lot, but stayed silent. She didn't want too much of Alice's attention right now, thanks.
	And Max could take care of that for her. "Alice, we're down here because there's a tornado warning," he said.
	Alice's smile vanished. It didn't seem like she was all that fond of him at the moment. She even rolled her eyes. "I know why we're down here, Max, what do you think I am --" And here her voice went lower, and she seemed to slump a bit in her seat "-- a whore?"
	"Did she just say whore?" Charmaine asked, astonished, but before anyone had time to answer, something... happened. It was like Tara had some sort of a sudden seizure, turning towards Kate with her hair falling over her face and making a short, uncontrolled, animal-like noise. Kate nearly jumped off her crate, and there were startled noises to be heard from everyone else too. That had been new. And very very sudden.
	As Tara slumped limply down in her chair again with her hair obscuring her face, a stunned silence filled the room, apart from the sound of the storm outside.
	Yes, that had indeed been a bit surprising. Even Bod sat back a little, having thought Alice was going to be the one that stayed and not...whatever had just happened. Bod wanted to ask if she was all right but he was the one that, besides their neighbors, probably knew the least about what was happening right here. He glanced towards Kate and moved close enough to reach out to rub her shoulder but couldn't find the focus to do anything else. He kept glancing around, waiting to see if something else happened or someone reacted.
	Kate covered his hand on her shoulder with one of her own, but she did it absently, her eyes flicking between her mother – or whoever it was in there right now – and the others, like she was looking for answers.
	And then Tara straightened up again, easily running her hands through her hair and leaning back in her chair like nothing weird had just happened. "Well, that was a lot of mishagosh." Wait. Kate did not recognize that tone, that way of using her mother's voice. Not to mention that one word she didn't understand at all. They'd already seen Buck and Alice, and probably Gimme, and this was definitely not T, either. To Kate, this sounded like... a random Jewish lady from New York? What? "I've had an easier time getting through Holland Tunnel at rush hour." The silence from everyone else seemed to be continuing on for a while still, but whoever this was, leisurely looking around the room and their faces, didn't seem to mind. The only who didn't look confused was Max, but it wasn't like anyone was looking at him, right now.
	This...was getting odder and odder. Bod honestly wondered how Kate's mother wasn't always exhausted because these sort of changes just looked exhausting to him. He joined in the staring even while idly rubbing his palm in circles against Kate's shoulder in an attempt to keep focused and to remember where he was. He licked his lips, wetting them in case he decided to talk but there weren't any words coming out right now.
	Kate stared at her mother for a moment, then turned to look at her father across the circle, frowning. "Who the fuck is this?"
	Max looked a little resigned. "This is your mom's new therapist," he said. "Shoshana Schoenbaum." He seemed almost, almost wryly amused as he said the name.
	... Uh. Kate glanced at Bod, not really wondering how he was doing with all of this, but how she was supposed to keep handling this. Her mother's new therapist was an alter? How fucked up was that? Briefly, she looked rather helpless, but it only lasted for a second or two.
	"Hullo, ma'am," Bod said, greeting the newest...person without really thinking. It couldn't hurt and he couldn't help himself. He caught Kate's glance and tried to figure out how she was doing but refrained from asking. That, he thought, would start an argument or get him snapped at and he didn't want either right now. It was a trying situation, exhausting and surprising, and they didn't need anger to top it all off.
	"Hello, you must be Bod," Shoshana said. There was a genuine little smile on her face, but her eyes gave the impression that she was picking up details and analyzing them at the same time. "Good to finally meet you." That had Kate glancing at Shoshana with a frown. Did that mean she knew about Bod? How was that even possible?
	"Um yes, I am. Bod Owens," Bod said, nodding and sounding a little surprised himself. "It's good to meet you too even if the circumstances aren't ideal." He glanced up at the small window and that continued storm outside. He looked back down, trying to read what that smile meant and how much she actually knew about him. It seemed like a lot more than he expected.
	Kate was just about to consider asking about it, but then Ted piped up, looking utterly confused, looking from Shoshana to Max. "That, that book I gave to her --?" Max sighed. "Yeah..." "By my old therapist?" "Yeah." "She... turns into her?" "Been quite a journey."
	Oh this was just ridiculous bullshit. Shoshana had stopped scrutinizing Bod but was eyeing Kate with some interest instead, so Kate turned away from her, turning a bit more towards Bod, though she kept throwing glances Shoshana's way. This sucked ass, but she was still curious.
	Shoshana leaned forward in her chair. "So," she said, clapping her hands together. "The elements have conspired, like those witches in Macbeth, to place us all in this situation." Kate couldn't help noticing the way she talked with her hands. Deliberate, precise movements to emphasize certain words. "Safe from harm, but in the eye of the storm."
	"Max," Charmaine snapped, all tense in her seat, "make her fucking stop."
	Max just shook his head. "I can't, Char, you know I can't," he replied, calm in the face of Charmaine's anger.
	And Shoshana didn't care about Charmaine right now. She just smiled, almost mischievous. "Group time," she said, gaze moving from one person to the next. "Who wants to begin?"
	Charmaine looked down at the floor and gave Shoshana the finger.

.....

	After that, time dragged on. And on and on and on, and Kate was finding out that the only thing worse than finding out her mother had a new alter? Was having to be stuck in the same room with that alter for hours on end, listening to her analyse the gay neighbors' relationship, because they were the only ones who'd cared to share anything with Shoshana. And they actually seemed to be enjoying it. Hany was just talking about how Ted had apparently reminded him of some history teacher he'd had at the British school back in Cairo, and Shoshana was nodding along with that stupid therapist smile of hers. Meanwhile, Marshall still looked worried, Max was his stoic self, Charmaine had added a permanently pissed off look to her repertoire to go with her still continuing discomfort, and Kate... really hated the whole world right about now. She kept fiddling with her phone, mostly just to give herself something to do. The storm was howling outside, stronger than before. It really sounded like stuff was getting picked up by the wind and thrown about, now.
	On the one hand, Bod was a little worried that the storm didn't seem to be letting up at all. He'd been in severe storms but this one seemed neverending. On the other, he was a little fascinated by the current persona Kate's mother had taken on. It wasn't enough to really talk but that was mostly because he'd been too busy listening. He did keep glancing at Kate to see how she was and almost took her phone away from her until he realized it was a way to fidget and not continued attempts to call her friend. He didn't have any sympathetic words for her though. He didn't think anything he had would really work right now and he was a little scared to try anything physical because of the people around him. He did chance reaching out and rubbing her knee lightly, trying to pull her focus back from wherever it had gone.
	Kate put her hand on top of his, but didn't really look at him or react in any other way. She was just... bored, and desperate to go out, and really just full of hate towards everything: she was sick of bagels and Nutella, sick of Shoshana's stupid accent, sick of the poor lighting in this damn basement. She gave a quiet, utterly frustrated sigh.
	"That must've been a great relief to you," Shoshana said, when Hany was done with describing how he'd met Ted, "coming to a new country and a new city that hustles and bustles the way the Big Apple can, to find a, uh... How should I put it? A familiar face."
	Hany and Ted exchanged a quick smile, and Hany put his hand on Ted's knee. "It was, actually."
	But this wasn't all good. "Of course," Shoshana continued, a little more serious if still as friendly as she'd been until now, "the pitfall of choosing someone for safety is that we come to resent them, over time. A little."
	Quiet and subdued, they both agreed with her words, and they drew away from each other a bit again.
	"But love, as I say in my book, loves it all," Shoshana continued on. "But love has to see it. Love can't be left in the dark."
	Kate was really getting tired of having to listen to this psychobabble. Once it looked like Shoshana was done for now, she pulled her hand off of Bod's so she could clap a few times, slow and deeply sarcastic. "Well, I don't know about you guys," she said then, pushing some of her fake hair off her face, "but I am kinda grouped out."
	Bod glanced at Kate, frowning slightly and pulled his hand away mostly because she was going to draw some attention and he didn't want her father getting angry at him for trying to comfort her. He crossed his arms instead, leaning over him and looking down at the floor while waiting to hear what happened next. He couldn't predict it and even if he'd tried, he knew he'd be wrong. There was nothing about this day that was predictable.
	"Kate." Nothing predicatble, except maybe Kate's reaction when Shoshana said her name. That was really all Kate needed for her shoulders to start tensing up and for her defences to start locking into place. When she spoke, her tone was already kind of strained. "If you are going to talk to me about my --"
	"Your anger is a very pretty costume, Kate," Shoshana remarked, leaning back easily in her chair, wholly unaffected by Kate's already rather pissed off warning. "Just like your costume is a costume."
	Kate was starting to ball herself up, like she could shut out Shoshana's voice just by curling up tightly enough into a ball of fake hair and shiny vinyl. This whole fucking day sucked, and she felt just about ready to explode.
	Oh, that wasn't a very good sign and Bod actually unwound himself a little to try and calm her down. One hand on her back and one on her arm, trying to turn her focus towards him so she didn't end up hurting herself (all that tension could hurt) or ending up in a worse mood than she already was. He didn't know if it would help but he had to try especially since she was the closest to her right now and her mother wasn't her mother. Bod said her name a few times, quietly, but didn't offer anything else. She probably didn't need to be told it would be all right or everything would be fine. Bod didn't even know if she'd accept this but that hadn't stopped him before.
	At least Kate didn't immediately push him away, even if she didn't relax at all either. It was a faint reminder of moments that weren't this one, moments that were better, moments that were good. It might have worked. ... It might have worked if Shoshana hadn't kept pushing on. "But where are you right now, under all those costumes, huh?" she asked, annoyingly relaxed. "Where is Kate?" "God!" Kate snapped. "Can we just take a minute?" She stood up abruptly, shaking off Bod's hands in the process, with the intention of stalking off into the little area in the back that was a little more closed off from the rest, since that was the only place she could really go. "I need a fucking break."
	Bod held up his hands for a minute longer, looking at the place she'd just been before tucking them back under his arms and turning to sit a little more forward on the crate. He didn't look at anyone because he didn't have any answers either. He thought about following her and almost went through with that but if she needed a moment, he wouldn't do anything but anger her by asking if she was all right. He stayed quiet and hoped this storm ended soon.
	Everyone looked in the direction Kate had flounced off to for a moment, before most of them let their gazes slide in the direction of the concrete floor again. No one particularly wanted to go after her. "Okay," Max said mildly, looking across at the culprit for this sudden burst of agression. "I think it's time to ease up on the therapy for now, Shoshana." She looked okay with th idea, shrugging a shoulder. "Fair enough, if you think so, Max," she replied, holding up her hands. "It's your family." "Yeah, it is." And then there was just the awkward silence again, and the storm outside – seriously, was that thing never going to end? – and the sound of Kate pacing in the alcove, fuming.
	Bod rubbed a hand over his eyes and through his hair, once again pondering if he should go check on Kate. Again, he didn't and hoped that didn't get him into any trouble either. He did finally glanced around at the assembled group, wondering if his expression mirrored theirs before looking back towards the alcove to see if Kate was all right.
	Kate was... really just an occasional flash of something shiny, whenever some part of her costume caught a little bit of light. It was a little darker where she was, since there was no lamp in that particular area, just whatever light got there from where everyone else was. Inevitably, there was the brighter light of her phone's screen, and then even that vanished once she held the phone to her ear. Meanwhile, there was starting to be a bit of movement around Bod. Hany got up, muttering something about wanting to stretch his legs, and Max pushed himself up as well, going over to one of the shelves to look through the things there.
	Finally, Bod got up and wandered back towards Kate slowly. Staring at the ground was making him restless and conversation had come to a halt so he took the chance to see if she was all right. He didn't say anything as he approached and kept his arms crossed and to himself.
	Kate was still on the phone, anyway, keeping her voice down, bu he'd hear her as he got closer. She had her back to him, though, and didn't hear him. "-- so I guess, just call me when you get this? ...Okay, bye." Ending the message, she sighed and raised a hand to rub at her temple again. She would've rubbed at her eyes, but she didn't want to smudge her makeup.
	"You're going to make yourself sick," Bod said quietly, stopping a few feet behind her. He suppressed a frown at hearing her leaving yet another message and shook his head. "I'm sure she'll call you as soon as she can," he added, trying to be supportive.
	If Kate was a little startled to hear his voice so near, she didn't show it. "I'm not making myself sick," she replied, mildly, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Everyone else is."
	"Everyone else is making you sick?" Bod questioned, frowning a little in both concern and confusion.
	"Well, maybe she is." Kate wasn't even sure what name to use right now, so she didn't. She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around herself, and while doing so, wrapping herself up in her wings as well. "I dont know, whatever. I just wanna get the fuck out of here."
	"I know you do," he said and rubbed his eyes. "It's just not safe right now. I hope it'll be over soon and everyone can leave. You just need..." He smiled a little sadly, a little forced. "...to relax a bit. You are going to make yourself ill."
	"I'm fine, Bod," she replied, even if it was obvious how far from the truth that statement was. "I'm as relaxed as I can be. I had plans." Plans she was being a little obsessive about, yes.
	"Kate, I can tell you're not fine, I know you better than that and I think you're going to have to reschedule your plans," Bod said, still calm even during this situation. "You've done all you can about those plans and there's really nothing more you can do," he said gently. "You just have to...wait."
	"Well I don't want to," Kate replied petulantly. "I shouldn't have to." There were starting to be more noises from the main area. Max had found a radio, and some conversation was starting up again.
	"I know this isn't ideal but right now, you have to wait," Bod said, nodding a few times. "There's nothing else you can do. I know you were excited about whatever it is you were going to do but it's not going to happen right now." He did step closer, voice still quiet. "I'm sorry. Will you try and relax a little? You're going to give yourself muscle knots."
	"So what?" Kate asked, though she was starting to sound less and less steely and pissed off. "It's not like I'm gonna get to do anything today." Might as well be in pain the rest of the day. Wouldn't much differ from how everything had gone so far.
	"I would like you to be pain free," he said and tried to find the back of her neck under all that hair and costume. He kneaded there gently. "This can't last forever and we'll all be out of here soon. It's difficult and requires endurance but it can't last forever."
	Kate sighed and closed her eyes, letting him touch her. It was nice, even if it was that in a kind of a dulled way. "This is my life," she muttered. "Of course it will last forever."
	"It won't always be like this," he said, still rubbing her neck and shaking his head. "You know what my life was like previously. That didn't last forever. This isn't how it will always be." He didn't think he was lying either. He really did believe things would get better in the end.
	Well, he was a optimist. Kate was very much not. "Yes it is," she said. "This day is going to last forever and we'll never get out."
	"It's not going to last forever. By definition, weather like this doesn't last forever," he said, trying to be logical since nothing else was working. "We will get out and then you can leave," he said, letting his eyes drift away for a moment before moving back to her. "I promise."
	Kate made a face at him. "Bod, I don't really feel like being logical right now, when --" That was as far as she got before she was peering over his shoulder, back at the main area. "What the...?" Apparently, the rest had found some jaunty '50s tune on the radio, something about going on a sea cruise, and... Were they dancing? Seriously?
	"Nothing else is working," he sighed, taking his hand away and letting his shoulders sag. He didn't even really turn around at her statement of surprise. He did take a few steps to the side, giving her more line of sight and shuffled back towards the group while doing so. The music, at least, helped distract him from other things.
	It was plenty distracting, all right. Everyone was dancing around. Or, almost everyone: Charmaine was sitting on one of the lowest steps of the stairs, looking about as comfortable as she had all through this. Which was not very. "... Okay," Kate said, a little dubious as she wandered towards the group. So, they'd all gone a little crazy.
	"I suppose it passes the time," Bod said idly but made no move to join them. Instead, he found a wall to lean against and watch.
	As for Kate... She was tired and hungry and a little achy, and her day was completely fucked up and ruined. A little bit of utterly ridiculous dancing to bad music in a basement was not going to hurt her further. Whatever. She joined the dance.
	Bod didn't but he couldn't quite keep a small smile off his face. He seldom danced and he didn't really want to dance right now. Standing and watching was good enough for him. He was a little out of sorts, a little irritated and fine with just staying still.
	What Kate was doing probably wouldn't necessarily be considered dancing under normal circumstances either, really, but it was the best she could do. Shuffling around on her high-heeled boots. It was a welcome distraction, though. She didn't notice Shoshana dancing her way away from the main group and to Charmaine, still sitting on the stairs. "Come dance Charmaine."
	Charmaine's answer was a predictable one. The tone, too. "I don't wanna dance," she grumbled, but Shoshana was undeterred. "Oh come on, dance a little doll, it'll make you feel --" She made the mistake of trying to reach for Charmaine's arms. Charmaine was having none of that, and pushed herself up quickly, raising both her hands and her voice to make Shoshana drop the subject and leave her alone. "Look okay I don't wanna dance."
	Well, Bod could feel her on that one. He didn't really want to dance either. He wasn't going to go as far as showing solidarity or agreeing even if he did. Instead, he tried to make himself look innocuous and small. Quiet. He just tried to be quiet and unobtrusive while everyone else enjoyed themselves.
	He really didn't have to worry about that for long, since they were all starting to stop enjoying theirselves again. It wasn't a large basement, and the music wasn't that loud: neither large nor loud enough for Charmaine's little outburst to go unnoticed. They were all starting to stop and turn and look. "You're not worried about Neil's baby, are you?" Shoshana asked, still dancing like she didn't have a care in the world. This was... about the part that grabbed everyone's attention, yes. "Dancing won't shake that thing loose."
	"Neil's baby?" Marshall asked, incredulous. Beside him, his sister sounded like she found that ridiculously amusing. "Sweet zombie Jesus," Kate exclaimed, "she's carrying around Neil's baby!" About then, the little window behind the siblings got smashed to pieces by a branch that looked like it had come from a tree. They barely reacted to it, other than with a quick glance.
	Since Bod didn't really know who Neil was or why this was such news, he actually wandered over to have a look at the window. The glass on the floor was shattered and Bod, careful not to cut himself, tried to at least shuffle it into a pile so no one would hurt themselves. He could feel the wind coming in from that window and squinted up at the protruding tree branch. The glass at his feet clinked together a little and he knelt down to gather it closer with his fingers.
	Kate glanced back at him, but said nothing. She was too immersed in the drama that was unfolding before them. How could she not be? Shoshana had found a victim that wasn't her. And poor Charmaine was trying to act like she had no idea what Shoshana was talking about. "Don't you mean Nick's baby, right?"
	"Charmaine, you told Tara yourself the baby is Neil's," Shoshana replied, sounding like she thought Charmaine was being an idiot. Or maybe just childish. "Don't lie."
	"You don't know what you're talking about," Charmaine insisted, laughing so it would be Shoshana who came out of this looking ridiculous. It was coming off as kind of desperate. "Shoshana."
	Kate was pulling her wings around herself again, feeling the breeze coming in through the window. It was all starting to be not funny anymore, and she was once again struck by the intense desire to just get out of there, feeling confused and hungry and a little chilly. But she just stood there.
	And while no one paid him much attention, he left them to deal with their sudden revelation. Any contribution from him wouldn't have had any factual knowledge behind it. He didn't want to say anything wrong. He kept sweeping the glass into a pile, wincing when one edge caught him on the pad of his finger but making no noise. He did send a glance or two every so often at the group in front of him.
	"You don't know what you're not talking about," Shoshana retorted at Charmaine, all warmth gone from her voice now. "You think people lie the way you do to the ones they love, for no reason at all? They lie, because it's a habit. And it's a habit, because it started somewhere, and we both know where your lying started, Charmaine."
	"That's enough, Shoshana," Max started, taking a step towards the two women, the two sisters standing there separate from the rest of the group. But Shoshana didn't listen. "You and Tara made a pact," she said, causing Charmaine to shake her head and actually flee from her, heading for that same alcove Kate had been hiding in earlier. And that was too much for Max. "Goddammit, I said stop it," moving closer to take a hold of Shoshana. And then suddenly she fell limp in his arms, as if struck unconscious by some invisible hand.
	"Bod?" Kate hardly realized she'd uttered the name, nor that she ended up awkwardly reaching back for his hand, for him, even as she kept staring ahead at her parents with a frown of confusion on her face. Why was nothing that happened today familiar and normal in any way?
	Bod had gotten to his feet by the time the playfulness had faded away so he was there when Kate said his name and he was able to take her hand when she reached for him. He still didn't know what was really going on but he was frowning at Kate's mother now, hoping she was all right and really starting to despise this storm. He moved closer to Kate, almost standing hip to hip with her.
	Kate held his hand tightly, still staring ahead. Fortunately, it didn't last long, not even long enough for them to start speculating what exactly had happened. Tara started to come to after a moment or two, still propped up by her husband. "Tara?" Max asked, barely loud enough for the others to hear. Her reply was similar. "Yeah. Yeah it's me." Having said that, she gently pushed away from him, and went to the stairs.
	Before she'd gotten further than a few steps, Ted asked the question that was probably in all their heads at seeing her decide to leave the basement. "What about the tornado?"
	Tara turned around, looking a little dazed. She sounded tired, like she couldn't bear to raise her voice too much. "It's over," she told them. "Can't you guys feel it? Pressure's changed." And she was right. Kate thought she could feel it too, now, and she could definitely see more light coming from outside. And the sound of the wind was finally gone. And so Tara climbed up and opened the door at the top of the stairs, letting bright sunlight stream down into the basement. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel, Max," she said. "There is." And then she disappeared into the house proper. The storm was over.
	Kate leaned against Bod, not really caring who saw it right now, while everyone else started to shuffle around, gathering their belongings so they could follow Tara outside.
	"I told you it would end," he said quietly, pressing a subtle and almost hidden kiss against her cheek before nudging her towards the stairs so they could finally, at long last, get themselves out of the basement.
	Kate just sighed and gave his hand a squeeze before moving to pick up her helmet, and then starting to climb the stairs again, following her brother. "Can you feel the pressure's changed?" she wondered, sounding almost as tired and subdued as her mother had.
	"Not really but I don't know a lot about weather patterns," he said, following behind her. "The wind's lessened so I'll take that as a good sign."
	"And you can see the sun again." That much was evident already when they made it into the house, and from there it was a short way to the front door and outside. The brightness forced Kate to blink a lot when they emerged from the house. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was already setting. It was bright, but soon it would be gone. And darkness falling would probably be a good thing, considering how absolutely wrecked the street looked. Trees had fallen, cars looked battered, and there was random crap all over the place. There was even a shopping cart right on Hubbard's front yard. Kate had kind of a lot of trouble even really comprehending this was still Oak Avenue.
	"Wow," Bod breathed, surprised at the damage the storm had wrought and very glad that Kate had not been gone when it had struck. He could only imagine what it might have been like for her in a car or something else. "That will take awhile to clean up," he remarked idly, stepping carefully over fallen debris. "At least no one appears to be injured."
	"No, doesn't look like it," Kate replied, absently. There was a specific cause for her distraction: her father and brother had stopped and were looking down the street. Moving to stand beside Marshall, she saw what they were looking at. Tara was walking down the street. Tara was walking away. Away into the sunset, amid the wreckage, past the cut powerlines with spurts of sparks flying out of them. Kate's voice sounded a little weak to her ears, but she didn't care. "Where's Mom going?" "I don't know," Max replied.
	Bod didn't feel exactly right suggesting this but he decided someone should considering the possible danger in the area. "Should...someone go after her?" he asked, biting his lower lip after he'd said it.
	"Nah," Max said, with the briefest shake of his head, glancing over at Bod. "She'll be back." Kate found herself feeling a little secptical about that. "You sure?" Because there was something about the way she was just... walking. She hadn't turned to look back, not even once. It seemed to have some kind of a finality to it. But Max didn't think so. Maybe he couldn't. "Yeah," he said instead, going for a reassuring tone as he glanced over at both of his kids, this time. "She loves you guys too much to just disappear." Kate said nothing to that, just chewed on her lip while staring ahead.
	Bod nodded, deciding that was about all the explanation needed. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants and watched Kate's mother disappear down the street. He hoped she came back all right.

[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC-okay! Part two of two, still preplayed with the awesome there_was_life, and taken and tweaked from USoT S02E06 'Torando!'.]