There hadn't been as much of a need for their guard shifts and 'round the clock' security in the past few months. But no one at the X-Mansion was ready to take their guard down. Pockets of Darkseekers still lurked in the shadows and now a much different threat(?) seemed to be taking shape. The number of people being infected with the Upir Virus was growing and the effect this new strain of the 'cure virus' would have on the landscape of the new world was yet unseen. Lucky it seemed, partially thanks to the Professor, the new government was treating the mutant population well. Not that they had much of a choice as mutants now accounted for much larger chunk of the population. There were always rebels of course, like Magneto, but surprisingly (to Conlan) he was still behaving like a guest here at Xavier's. Maybe he knew something Sentient and the others didn't. But none of these thoughts were very pressing at the moment to Conny... they were pushed to the back of his mind like the broken figs to the back of his junk drawer, he was now focused almost completely on Joe.
Happy, of course he was happy here, he wasn't dead. But he knew that's not what Joe was getting at. "Before this place, I lived in the orphanage." Conlan was fifteen when Moria had showed up to take him away from the (kind but strict) nuns at St. Peters'. "Yeah, I love it here. I get to be with the brother I didn't know I had, and go to school. Even be on a superhero team." Conlan didn't consider himself a hero in any sense of the word. He'd grown up idolizing heroes like Batman and Superman, so to even be on a team like the X-Men was a huge honor for him. He thought about his brother for a moment. Conlan was still getting used to this 'new' Ronan that had returned to them a week ago. Those infected with the Upir Virus were all having some trouble fitting back in. But Conlan feared for Ronan the most. He wasn't exactly the most likable guy before the mission. But like the rest of his unpleasant thoughts, he forced those of his brother on the back burner.
"Hey Joe, thanks for coming out here with me." He'd said it already but he wanted to remind the healer how much it meant to him. It wasn't just because he could help pass the time, Conlan loved being around Joe. It just felt like he could be himself with Joe, which wasn't really clear to him, because he didn't think he was being someone else around other people. It was a complicated situation to Conlan. Sentient shifted his weight from foot to foot, he wanted to sit next to Joe but he knew he should stand and watch the forest. Hell, there were other people on towers tonight, what could happen? Conlan moved and sat down next to Recon. He tapped his chest twice and smiled. "Still tickin'," he referred to the watch that now rested in the breast pocket of his jacket. "I don't think I'm gonna fix it. Keeping it runnin' doesn't take that much thought. Just a little... It's just like I'm always thinkin' of you a little." Conlan turned beet red at the sentiment. 'Crap, that sounded stupid' he thought as he tried to avoid eye contact with Joe as if the healer wouldn't pick up on his embarrassment.