Holiday in the Hamptons | Tabitha and Warren (backdated)

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Tabitha attempts to relax and asks Warren how he does it.



The problem with knowing that you're high strung is that efforts to become less so often end up self-sabotaging. So there Tabitha was, in the Hamptons, beside a glorious luxury pool, on a beautiful sunny day, fretting.

She worried about the kids back at the mansion, about Artie and how he was coping, about Matt and Molly and well, all of them. Then there were the superficial matters, like just how fat her ass looked in this ridiculous silver bikini. And sun cancer.

As a result, she could not sit still.


"How can you possibly be lying there frowning?" Warren appeared next to her, a drink in each hand. One of them was offered to her, a martini glass full of brightly colored liquid. He was wearing nothing but a pair of baggy shorts, taking advantage of the hot weather to go shirtless. Not that he really needed the excuse.


Tabitha readjusted her sunglasses so she could oggle at will from behind the tinted lenses. "It's a talent," she said with a smirk. "Ooh! For me?" She took the offered drink eagerly and took a sip. "Tasty."


"Of course." Warren took a seat next to her, sitting sideways on the lounge so he could face her. "What on earth could be so dire it can have you frowning on a day like today? In a place like this?" Warren did not approve. At all.


Her lips twitched upward. "A dire case of brain-won't-shut-up syndrome," she said. She sat up a bit straighter for less messy access to her drink. "Worried about Artie, the other kids, this idiot bathing suit, the usual."


"The bathing suit looks great," Warren said with a grin. "And as for the rest - half the kids are here and enjoying themselves - I think -so relax. There's not much trouble they can get into out here."


Tabitha burst into laughter. "Have you met these kids? Or don't you remember the-" she lowered her voice for dramatic effect. "The Field Trip Curse. Dundundun!"


"This is not a field trip," Warren insisted. "Nothing educational will be occurring this weekend. Also not all of the kids are here." He paused, remembering the last time he took the kids away for a break. "Also I will not be letting anyone borrow any vehicles."


She settled back into her lounge chair. "Something will explode by the end of the holiday. Something not fireworks," she predicted.

"Don't jinx it! The kids deserve a drama-free break. You deserve a drama-free break." He looked pointedly at her glass. "With plenty more of those."


Tabs obediently took a deep drink. "I'm trying, I promise. But I can't just sit around!" She frowned down at the ice in her glass. "How do you do it?" She realized that might have sounded bad. "Relaxing, I mean."

"Practice?" Warren shrugged. "I used to work my ass off, both in California and when I first moved back here. And sure, you're busy all the time, but then work is all you have in your life. Nothing is so important that it can't be left so you can stop and relax, have fun, have a life." He grinned a little. "And relaxing doesn't always have to mean lying by a pool sipping a cocktail."

That made her sit up, giving him her full attention. "What do _you_ do for relaxation?" she asked.

Warren thought about that for a moment. What did he do?

"Fly. Go out with friends. Have sex." He flashed her a broad smile. "Sometimes I run through a Danger Room scenario, but don't tell anyone that. It'll ruin my reputation."

Tabs huffed. "Everybody knows when I try to unwind in the Danger Room. I usually come out limping. Same thing going out with friends, because it's usually Cammie." She stopped and blushed. She and Cammie had a... violent way of unwinding.

Warren just rolled his eyes at the mention of Cammie. He didn't know the girl very well, but what he did know of her, he didn't think she was exactly the person to be relaxing with.

"See, that's the opposite of relaxing. Getting yourself hurt isn't exactly bliss inducing. Clearly I'm just going to have to drag you out more often."

That induced a laugh, a happy one. "Promise?" she teased.

Warren laughed as well, a gleam in his eye as he replied. "I promise."