Timeline - After the fic 'A Thursday Like Any Other'
<Screwball> Liza was sat on the bench in the park, looking out over the scenery, "Soooo .... ummm ...."
<@Jonathan> Jonathan smirked, shaking his head and scratching the back of his neck. Although Mary had convinced him the shirt-and-tie look was better on him, something was just uncomfortable about wearing that style outside in public. Or maybe it was just this situation?
<@Jonathan> "'Ummm', indeed.", he said back to the blonde girl, turning towards her. "So, you're my son's girlfriend..."
<Screwball> "Yep!" Liza said brightly, "for my sins," she giggled a little nervously.
<@Jonathan> Jonathan blinked past his glasses, "'Sins'? Do I want to even know?", he shook his head with a grin. He raised his eyebrow at the girl - it was fun, in his mind anyway, to see young people squirm at his questions.
<Screwball> "Erm ... it was a joke?" Oh hell! Had she said the wrong thing? Squirming was what was happening here.
<@Jonathan> "Relax, relax: I'm just screwing about. Don't feel uncomfortable.", Jonathan assured her, removing his glasses and looking out onto Central Park. He took a deep breath. "Always liked America.",
<Screwball> "... Oh," Liza relaxed a little, "Yeah? I ... guess it's a lot different to home, right?" She hazarded.
<@Jonathan> "Very. I don't suppose Eddie gave you much of a chance to look around London when he took you over there, what with your comic conventions.", Jonathan guessed, "He always gets carried away a little easily, doesn't he?"
<@Jonathan> Jonathan turned to Liza again, "You seem uncomfortable."
<Screwball> "Hehe, no, we did a lot of racing around and stuff, I dunno where he gets from the energy from all the time," she shifted a little on the bench, "erm .. well ... maybe, not really ... sorta ... ish ..."
<@Jonathan> "You know, I'm hardly going to disapprove of the only girl who's ever seemed to make my son happy.", Jonathan smiled, "Why don't you tell me about how you two met?"
<Screwball> "Ummm ... I secretly shot footage of him fighting a giant monster, posted it on youtube with commentary and ... umm ... started a Venom fan-club ..." that didn't sound so good said out loud to his father ... did it.
<@Jonathan> Jonathan nodded slowly, "So...you technically stalked him a little bit?", he laughed.
<Screwball> "Not really! I just put up a load of cameras to film the goo-zombie apocalypse a few years back and super-heroes made good copy!" Wait ... did that make her seem a little cold blooded?
<@Jonathan> "Are you that worried about making a first impression?", Jonathan couldn't help but laugh at the defense - he wondered if he was being too cruel to Liza, she seemed a good enough girl. "I can see it in your eyes that you're very nervous; and trust me, I'm a doctor - I know this stuff."
<Screwball> "... You're not like that guy on TV who can like ... tell if someone's guilty just by reading their body language?" Liza looked a little panicky, "I dunno, it's just ... I love Eddie soooooo much! I wanna be good with his family and stuff!"
<@Jonathan> Jonathan shook his head, "No, more like I'm observant.", he smiled at what she said about Eddie, "You know, he loves you too. He really does, and as far as I'm concerned, that'd have been good enough - he's a very good judge of character!", he pondered that, "....sometimes."
<Screwball> "Yeah," Liza smiled, then checked her watch, "though I wish his punctuality was a bit better, he's running late ... do we wanna lay bets here? Burning building or saving a little old lady from being hit by a truck?"
<@Jonathan> "I was going to go with 'Averting Terrorist Attack', but I like the 'Old Lady' one.", Jonathan remarked, frowning a little, "I'd say it's not like him to be so late, but I discourage lying in all forms, ah....he did say this bench in Central Park, right?",
<Screwball> Liza smiled, "It's his favourite, this ... well ... this is where we had our first kiss," she blushed a little and smiled happily.
<@Jonathan> Jonathan grinned, "Honestly, he should write this stuff down. Was it planned?", he glanced around, feeling like he was sat on the set of a chick flick all of a sudden. Eddie was so sweet he sometimes thought his friends would become diabetic by proxy.
<Screwball> "Oh god, you know I don't remember!" She covered her face, "that sounds so bad but it was just so perfect and amazing and I couldn't think at now it all just seems ... like .... I dunno, like a roller-coaster, cliche as that sounds."
<@Jonathan> "I won't lie, it does.", he smirked back, "But it's nice. I honestly don't think Eddie had any idea what romance was. Far as I'm aware he never had anyone who really cared about him like you seem to."
<@Jonathan> "Moreover...", Jonathan went on, "...he never really seemed to accept anyone's love or support. I notice he was always passive when it came down to himself - like, he never asked any questions that might hurt people he cared about."
<@Screwball> "Yeah, we've had some problems with that in the past," Liza said with a nod, "but he seems to be finally getting over all that, we're working though it!" She checked her watch again, "I think I should phone him, he normally lets me know if he's gonna be late or stuff."
<Jonathan> Jonathan nodded, she probably knew Eddie better than he did. Then again, there were parts of a son that a father really didn't need to know about. He decided instead to enjoy the scenery as Liza made her call.
<@Screwball> Liza frowned as it went straight to answering machine and tried again a couple of times before texting him, "Ugh ... something major must have happened, I hope I won't get in trouble with Johnson for not being there to cover it ..."
<Jonathan> "Johnson? Part of your film crew?", Jonathan asked, he, too, was concerned that Eddie was so silent, but he probably had his reasons. "I'm sure its nothing serious...",
<@Screwball> "Pffft, I wish, Montana Johnson, CEO of the MoJo network, she's my boss," she checked the phone again for a text back, looking more then a little worried, and then quickly logged on to check all the news channels for any kind of super-heroic activity in the city.
<Jonathan> Jonathan nodded, watching Liza poke through news feeds, he wasn't sure if he thought it was cute she was so concerned or whether he felt he should also be. "It's probably nothing.", he said, more so to himself, "Any news?"
<@Screwball> Liza bit her lip and shook her head, "No ... it's all really quiet ..."
<Jonathan> "Erm....well, did he say he was up to anything?", he followed with, Eddie mentioned the Trask Foundation, but that was two days ago, surely he'd been and returned since?
<@Screwball> "No ... he said to meet him here," Liza thought for a moment, "I think maybe I should phone up the X-Men."
<Jonathan> Jonathan frowned, now he was a tad concerned. "Do they have a phone-line?"
<@Screwball> "I have contact numbers for them since I'm like ... their PR manager or something ... but I really shouldn't do it in public, you okay to come wait in my car?"
<Jonathan> "Er, yes. Sure.", Jonathan nodded.
<@Screwball> Liza lead the way down to her car, punching in the number for Warlock, he always answered. It was probably nothing but ... better to be sure, right?"