Scott and Jean, Saturday night

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Scott, on his latest trip to the mansion, checks on his wife. This time, Jean's awake - and not at all keen on letting him head back to the disaster zone, even if duty calls.


The kids had given him something of a funny look, seeing him walking through the hall quite openly in his leathers, but Scott was honestly far too tired to care. He couldn't stay for long - he'd brought the Blackbird back on a quick trip to do pick-ups and drop-offs, and they needed to be heading back to San Diego again within the hour - but he had one thing he really, really had to do before he headed back out.

The door to their suite was unlocked, and Scott let himself in quietly. No Jean in the living room. Ah-hah. The bedroom door was open, and there she was, curled up in bed - precisely where she should be. Scott made a brief detour to check on Horatio, who swam hopefully up to the top of the tank at the sight of him, then away again when he realized no food was forthcoming.

"Sorry, little guy," Scott murmured and then headed into the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. Whimsy hit him, and he leaned over, kissing her gently. The creaking of leather was rather loud.

The sound (and very familar smell) of the leather was what actually woke her, but Jean was more than willing to play sleeping beauty. Letting her eyes flutter open she smiled softly up at Scott. "Hi, you."

"Hey yourself." He smoothed rumpled red hair back away from her eyes. "How's the head?"

"Fuzzy," Jean said, not sounding entirely awake. "There have been vast quantities of sleeping."

"Well, if there hadn't been a lot of sleeping, there would have been vast quantities of husbandly indignation," Scott pointed out with a perfectly straight face. Even though the bed was so soft, even just sitting on it, and sleeping would be so good. He wouldn't even necessarily have to take off the leathers. "On a one-to-ten scale of events that warrant a week's worth of sleep, that little display on the shore ranks about a fifteen hundred."

Yawning, Jean shifted on the bed, curling around him. "There was a lot of water. Don't like the water," she said, sounding very little-girlish, as though it was ok to talk about the monster under the bed because she was on top of the bed - the water was far away right now, so it was ok, as long as it stayed far away.

"I know." He bent over far enough to be able to kiss the top of her head as she settled down against him. I wish I could stay... "You did it, though," he said, an odd, awed little smile playing on his lips for a moment. "I'm so proud of you, you know..."

"How long you here?" she asked, as the fact that he was in his leathers finally percolated through her brain.

"About... twenty minutes," Scott said, unable to keep the soft regret - or the tiredness - out of his voice. "You have no idea how much I wish I could just shuck the leathers and crash beside you at the moment."

"Nap?" Jean suggesting, sounding wistful. "Short nap. Baby nap. There can even be alarm clocks involved."

"Can't. If they came up here and found me napping they'd probably leave me here." With the best of intentions, of course, but he needed to be back out in the field.

"And that's bad?" She had curled her arm around one of the ones he was leaning against, snuggling into him.

"I'd be all delinquent. And I was all delinquent in June already... Jean," he protested, unable to help a tired grin as she snuggled. "Damn it, woman, you're hell on my sense of duty, you really are..."

"And that's bad?" She grinned sleepily up at him. "And you weren't delinquent, you were on holiday. 'S different."

She was like a limpet. A red-haired limpet. Scott told himself that the urge to giggle was just a sign of fatigue. Really, it was. After all, he didn't giggle.

"I've got to go," he said mournfully. "I really do. I promise... just a day or two more, I think. I don't think too many of us have many more days left in us for this kind of work..."

There was a very decided hint of pout to her look, as Jean said, "And then I get snuggles?"

"Then you get whole days worth of snuggling. And spoiling. You've earned it." He tugged her upwards to a semi-upright position where he could kiss her properly. "And I promise," he said as he drew back, gently detaching her, "when I come back to stay I'll even shower before I come upstairs."

Jean smiled at that, cupping his cheek with her hand. "Love you," she told him.

"Love you too, Legs," he said and kissed her hand as he rose. "I'll see you in a couple of days."