Scott and Alison, Monday evening

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Scott checks on Alison, who's soldiering on very determinedly, even if the strain is starting to show. Scott manages to be encouraging, and even gets her to laugh.


The computer screens glowed dimly in the conference room nearest to the medlab, though the cursor hadn't moved in a while now, the form slumped on the table in front of it unmoving. Sleep, it seemed, had snuck up on Alison, exhaustion and worry combined to an already exhausted state keeping her from staying alert enough to make it to the cot set up nearby.

Scott paused at the door of the conference room, sighing as he saw Alison asleep at the computer. I wonder if she'd notice if I moved her to the cot... He crept in as quietly as he could, sizing up how precisely he could pick her up out of the chair without waking her up.

The sound was enough, though Alison wasn't sure which one had woken her up exactly. Just a knowing, combined with an odd sensation at the back of her neck. Or maybe, she thought, opening her eyes to see a form moving up behind her slowly, it was just that she'd listened to so much loud music to boost herself along since Friday, that she was just hypersensitive to any sound, really.

"I'm awake." And after blinking slowly, trying to focus. "Scott?"

"Better places to sleep, Al," Scott said softly, sinking down in the chair next to hers. "And you need it, if you're falling asleep at the keyboard."

"Yeah." Pushing up a bit, she stared at the screen blearily. "I've been pushing it…" Tiredly, she rubbed a hand over her face, biting down on yet another surge of tears. Crying wouldn't get anyone anywhere, just now. "There's something in all of this that'll help somehow. There has to be. But there's just so much of it…" She trailed off, shaking her head a bit. The sound file which had been set at pause caught her attention, blinking steadily - one of those songs Haroun listened to all the time scrolling on the player steadily.

"Nathan seemed pretty confident that we could tie things up in red tape handily for a good long while if we had to," Scott pointed out, noticing the player with a sigh. He'd heard what she'd been listening to the last couple of days. "I know it's not a permanent solution, but at least we have a temporary safety net if we need one."

"We'll need it. The moment of surprise is gone now and Shaw won't be off balance later. As soon as he sees the opening, he'll put everything he's got into tripping us up. I'm pretty sure we can work something out with Emma for the software side of things, but for the hardware?" She shook her head, chewing on her lower lip nervously. "Not gonna happen so easily. We'll need something he can't do anything against to be in the clear."

"Alison." Scott reached out and laid a hand over hers. "We are not going to fix your stubborn ass of a boyfriend only to have any doubt over who owns it. His ass, I mean." He smiled, just a little, but encouragingly. "As far as I'm concerned... as far as all of us are concerned, you have sole rights. And we will," he said more seriously, "find a way to make sure of that."

A trembling laugh answered him, Alison shaking her head at him unsteadily. "No fair. Trying to make me…" her voice wavered over the last word, "…laugh." Shoulder shaking slightly, she pressed one hand to her mouth, looking down as she still shook her head, unable to speak further.

Scott kept his hand where it was. "You're tired," he said quietly. "You're tired and you're worried and you're scared, but if you don't get some sleep, those patents are going to start looking increasingly like Greek to you. And you know Haroun would be telling you the same thing if he could." His hand tightened on hers.

Reversing her hand, Alison took a hold of his, in a grip that was too strong for comfort - clinging to something, anything. And nodded, a smile tugging on her lips despite everything else. "He would. He'd probably swear more in the process too." She took an unsteady breath, hand rubbing at her eyes. And reached over to the keyboard, closing the files and retrieving the data drive she'd been working from, before closing off the workstation. "I'll get some sleep," she said quietly, looking at the slim data drive in her hands. "I want to go see him first, though. Just a short visit."

"Okay," Scott said, smiling a little as he rose, still holding her hand. "Walk you to your hazmat suit, my good woman?" he asked wryly. "Those things are easier to get into with a little help, I've noticed." If she found his presence at all steadying, he was indeed going to walk her to the door of Haroun's isolation room. And possibly wait there for her to come back out, to make sure she slept.

"Yeah. Company is good," Alison murmured, pushing herself up to her feet. "Thank you, Scott." She tucked the data drive in her pocket, patting it lightly as though to make sure of its presence, before pushing the chair back into place.

"Company I can definitely do. Is there anything else I can bring down for you?" he asked. "Something to eat or drink for when you wake up?"

Sliding him a slightly wry look, Alison nodded. "Yes dad. And I promise I'll eat properly, too," she said, lips quirking slightly. As tired as she looked and felt, a measure of calm had returned.

"I'm a mother hen. We all know this. At least I'm generally fairly discreet about it." It was too gentle to call banter, really. Just a recognition that they'd found a certain level of balance here, even if it was just for a few moments.