Cammie & Nate ((Backdated before his birthday, March 30th))

[x-scorpion.livejournal.com]

After he returns from Morocco, Nathan and Cammie have a chat about her, cars, the future and all that jazz. ((Backdated to the 30th of March due to mun ditziness/illness))

Cammie had only bought herself one thing that cost more than ten dollars so far with either of her paychecks. And she was listening to that right now. The iPod blared in one ear as she was filing, Otep blaring out of the headphone that hung down. She didn't want it to be said she wouldn't hear if anyone was calling her.

But damn, filing was boring ass work and she was going to listen to something she liked. She hummed along and worked, actually not even caring if she handled things with her 'bad' hand anymore. Other than a few glitches it felt like she was starting to fit in. Even though she wasn't quite sure how she felt about that, it was happening.

That, she mused as she filed, was life.

Nathan was looking more than a little seedy as he appeared from the living quarters on the other side of the boathouse. He spotted the brand-new shiny iPod and smiled a little, as if despite himself.

Juliette gave him a smile and a nod, and Nathan nodded thoughtfully to himself.

"How's it going, Cammie?" he called, just loudly enough to be heard over her music.

Cammie turned, pulling the other bud-like headphone out of her ear, "Oh hey. It's going. I mean it's filing. So it's pretty easy." She felt like she was getting to the point where she could do it in her sleep.

"I appreciate you putting in a couple more hours when we were gone," Nathan said, lowering himself into his chair and biting back a sigh. Damn, his hip was bothering him this morning. “Always nice to come back to minimal paperwork."

"Yeah. I figured you guys wouldn't want to come back to a mountain of junk," she said simply. "'Sides, it's not like I have a wildly exciting life to get in my way," Cammie said, grinning.

"Oh," Nathan said dryly, "I hear you managed to create a little excitement recently. Running amuck in the garage, wasn't it?"

She laughed, albeit a bit nervously, "That was before you took Cats on the business trip. She wanted to go shopping, I don't like asking for keys and it takes two seconds to start a car without them," that was a bit of an exaggeration, it took about ten times that. But that wasn't the point. "The vehicle in question was returned with a full tank of expensive gas because I'm nice."

"Mmm," was Nathan's comment to that. "If I had a taste for psychoanalysis, I'd say that you didn't ask for keys because part of you wanted to get into trouble for hotwiring a car. “But," he said, "I am just a humble telepath."

She didn't flinch. "So, you reading my mind or something?" she returned. "Maybe I did, I dunno. I thought it was funny all I got to was a very stern talking to. But hey, I don't make the rules here. Next time I'll sign out one of those sign-y out-y cars." With her fake, yet very usable license.

"That car... was totally sex on wheels."

"So I'm told. You know," Nathan said, shuffling some files on his desk, "you're in a unique sort of position here. At the school, I mean. Neither student - of the graduate or undergraduate variety - or staff. I had that neither-fish-nor-fowl status myself, once upon a time..."

"Yeah. And yet, they don't want me to leave. I'm totally baffled," she said, a bit dryly. "At least here I have a couple of jobs and I haven't killed anyone yet, so it's all good."

"Is that all there is to a good life, for you?" Nathan asked idly.

"Pretty much," she said with a shrug. "Well, there's also fist fights, but that's another story entirely," Cammie said, grinning to herself. She still wanted to be able to get and do something like that. "I'm easy to please, I suppose." It wasn't hard to top a life on the streets for the almost four years she had done that. The only part of it she even remotely enjoyed was the traveling.

"Better be careful," Nathan said. "You might get too comfortable, and start expecting more..."

She laughed, "I'll feel sorry for everyone if I get a huge sense of entitlement."

"Nothing really to do with entitlement," Nathan pointed out, quite seriously. "What I mean is... thinking in the long-term. Beyond having what you need for the next few days, or weeks."

"Why bother? There's always a chance you, me, anyone here, could just drop dead tomorrow. If I need something down the road, I'll figure it out then. Otherwise, there really is only the next few weeks," she said, putting some files in their place.

"Well, you're not there yet. Barring catastrophe, however, you will get there." And it would probably throw her for all kinds of loops, when she did. "Keep in mind that there are plenty of us around to discuss options, should you ever need it."

"Yeah, I'll keep that on my mind," Cammie said, "And things being what they are, I'll believe me getting there when I see it. In the mean time, I'll just be glad I'm not on the streets anymore. That was getting old."