xp_logs | Scott and Paige, Friday afternoon

Backdated to Friday afternoon. Paige comes to drag Scott outside, as promised. They skip rocks by the lake. He's still grumpy.

The third floor wasn't really that far up. It was just one floor above the second floor, and Paige sat in the sill of her second floor window all the time. She'd looked down and really, it wasn't that high. In retrospect, this might be a little different, but Paige hadn't had a grand entrance in a very long while. Besides, Scott might find it amusing, and even if he didn't he could worry about her. Paige nodded to herself, tapping on his suite window. Because really, what was more worrisome than a girl who had just climbed up the house with a sticky husk at your window?

Scott looked up from where he was idly browsing through the contents of Sean's bookshelves looking for something interesting, and blinked at the sight of Paige, in a very odd-looking husk, at his window.

Paige waved, a quick little finger wave, before slamming her hand back on the brick of the mansion, sticky fingers gripping at impossibly small holds. "Want to open the window before or after I fall?" she asked cheerfully. "Although, I guess it would be a test to see if I could husk into something before hitting the ground. Maybe rubber? I could bounce back up here."

"Paige," Scott sighed, and came over to open the window. "What have we said about having a spotter when you experiment?" But a tiny smile was tugging at his lips, despite his best attempt to look severely at her.

"But I do have a spotter!" Paige protested cheerfully, climbing through the window rather ungracefully, head first, and somersaulting onto her feet again. A tiny, bright red backpack hung from her shoulders. "He just didn't happen to know he was my spotter, that's all."

"Semantics," Scott said, mock-severely. "You couldn't have used the stairs?"

"No," Paige said seriously, shaking her head.

"Right. What was I thinking." He blinked at her backpack. "Running away from home?" he asked whimsically. "Can I come with?"

Paige grinned at him, slinging the bag off and holding it with one hand. "Tempting, but no. Was doing the whole saving us from embarrassment thing. You know, change of clothes and all." Reaching into her bag, Paige brought out the collar of one of her t-shirts. "This way, if Jono or Angelo decide to have their regular awful timing no one gets punched in the face."

Scott grumbled, going back over the bookcase and very deliberately turning his back. "Right. Forgot that."

Scanning the room for reflections, Paige found the corner of the room, opened the closet door to provide some cover and quickly got changed, stuffing the last of her husk into a large Ziploc bag before putting it into her bag. If Paige was anything it was prepared. "All done. I really need to figure out a way to keep my clothes while husking."

"Hey," Scott said dryly, turning back around once she gave him the all-clear. "I'm sure the villain du jour would appreciate the view. We could call it a distraction? No?"

"I am not a peep show, Captain," Paige replied, shaking her finger at him. "But, then again, extra incentive for my boys to do the whole bloodying to a pulp thing. Did I mention they have a temper? Just a moment ago, you say? Well then."

"So," Scott said, leaning back against the bookcase and watching her. "What's the plan, then? You'd said something about dragging me outside. Can we use the stairs this time?"

Paige nodded, grinning brightly. "We could climb down the tree, but I have a feeling that's irresponsible or something." Paige took his hand, pulling him off the case and dragging him towards the door. "Stairs it is. Let's go."

Scott let himself be pulled along without protest. "I'll have you know I wilt in fresh air," he said half-heartedly.

"I'll iron you back out," Paige replied instantly, humming a jaunty tune as she dragged. "If I can iron collared shirts and pleats, I'm sure I can iron you."

"Oh, that's reassuring..." Scott held his tongue until they were out on the porch, where he had to admit that this was a good idea. Rather a nice sort of autumn day out here. "Where to?"

Paige bit her lip in thought, looking up at the sky before finally snapping her fingers in an epiphany. "The pond, lake thing. The body of water that's not a river. That thing," she replied cheerfully, leaping down all the stairs in one giant jump. Turning around, she beckoned him to follow.

Scott followed more slowly, his shoes crunching in the fallen leaves as he followed her down to the water's edge. He envied her energy, he really did.

"Slow poke," Paige teased gently, giving him a warm smile. She'd paused a moment, once she'd realised how far behind her he was, waiting patiently until he caught up. For some reason she had a deep urge to take his hand and swing it back and forth until he smiled but she resisted, instead just walking the few steps to the water at his side.

"So I sounded grumpy, did I?" Scott asked as they reached the water's edge. He bent to pick up a likely-looking stone and skipped it along the water.

Reaching into her cardigan sweater, Paige pulled out a flat stone and held it up so he could see, indicating his mind reading skills. She drew back to throw before thinking better and placing it in his palm, settling in the sand to find more stones for him. "Well. Yes."

"Well, I am grumpy," he said crossly. "You all stole my job and won't let me have it back."

"That we did," Paige agreed easily, finding another stone and creating the beginning of a pile beside her knee.

"Sneaky people. I have whole hours where I have absolutely nothing to do and wind up staring at the walls. It's infuriating." The next stone sunk like... well, a stone, and Scott glowered at the ripples.

"Hm," Paige hummed, pressing another stone into his hand. "Maybe you can take up wooden duck making."

Scott hesitated, staring at her. "Right," he said, then skipped the next stone a little more successfully. "Hobbies. I've heard about those."

"Even I have a hobby, Captain. And that's saying something." Paige had made a small pile stones beside her, enough to keep Scott busy for a while at least, and concentrated on the tide, stretching out until she was just touching it.

"I have a hobby. I play in the garage." Scott bent down to pick up another stone. "It's nice and quiet, and the cars don't tell me I need a vacation."

Paige looked up at him with a gentle smile. "Engines are good like that. Everything always fits."

Scott skipped the stone. Six splashes before it sank. "Did you hear me shouting at Jubilee on the weekend?" he asked abruptly.

"It was a bit hard to miss, sir," Paige replied honestly, sinking her fingers into the sand and wiggling them around a bit. "Were you a cheerleader in high school? Your voice carries very well."

"Pompoms and all," Scott affirmed wryly.

Paige looked off in the distance, mock pondering that for a long moment. "Mm," was all she said when she finally raised her eyes back to him.

"That was an alarming noise," Scott said, gazing down at her. ""Mm' what?"

"Nothing. Have another rock," Paige answered with a little chirp, handing him one.

"Rock-skipping therapy, is it?"

"I'm thinking of it this way; if I, for some very tragic reason, end up near fatally injuring myself on a mission and can never go out again, I can teach horseback half time and have rock-skipping therapy for the other. Or maybe Chemistry. I'm still trying to decide," Paige said, tossing an odd shaped rock into the water with a 'plop'.

"Let's not entertain the possibility, okay?" Scott asked, his brow creasing as he turned his attention back to the lake.

Paige snorted; watching the last of the ripples hit her toes. "Like you're one to use the grr voice on me for being prepared."

"I'm not using the grr voice." Scott laughed a bit hollowly. "I'm the only one that's supposed to be considering end-of-the-world options, don't you know..."

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Paige asked him, laying back in the sand with a strange little smile.

"Figured what out?" he asked with a quizzical look.

Paige blushed and looked away, suddenly embarrassed. "Nevermind."

"Come on, Guthrie," he said with a faint laugh. "Spill it. I know that look."

"You are what I want to be. Simple as that," she answered quietly, still not willing to give him any more than a quick glance.

Scott froze, staring out at the lake. "How can you say that?" The question came out tired, rather than incredulous. "Paige, I had to be taken forcibly off duty and drugged."

Paige shook her head, sitting up and clinging to her knees. There were tiny glimmers of light at the corners of her eyes - the beginnings of tears - that she brushed away. "Nevermind."

Scott turned to her, staring down at her for a long moment before he finally knelt down at her side. "I..." Could you stop believing in me? he wanted to yell at her, or part of him did, at least. "I'm sorry, Paige," he finally said, uncertain of what he was apologizing for.

"Don't be," Paige replied with such forced optimism it physically hurt. No one else believes me... believes in me, why should you? "I'm used to it."

"Used to what?" he asked wearily, not sure he was going to like the answer.

"Doubt," she replied with a shrug, as if it were a simple word.

Scott shifted, his shoulders hunching a little as he folded around that knot of unhappy tension that had taken up residence in his chest. He didn't know what Paige meant by doubt, and he didn't think he could comprehend all the levels to her answer even if he tried. "I'm not," he said, his voice tight, hurt. "You'd think I would be, by now..."

Paige didn't like how this was going. She was supposed to be cheering him up; couldn't even manage to do that right it seemed. Searching blindly, Paige found one of the skipping stones, rubbing her thumb over its smooth surface. "How could you be? The only kind of doubt you have is the doubt for yourself."

Scott started to protest, but then closed his mouth. She'd hit a little too close to home there. "Maybe I see myself as the weak link, in what I believe," he murmured, oddly depressed by the idea and the image.

"You think I'd idolize a weak Captain, idiot?" Paige asked, punching him in the shoulder before smoothing down his shirt and leaving a comforting hand there, three quick movements blurred into one another. "Go look at my GPA. Really, it should be framed. I'm not stupid. The Professor? Also not stupid. You? I can't really say the same because you're saying stupid things at the moment, but generally you're quite bright you know."

Scott laughed a bit breathlessly, but the smile fell off his face again as he laid a hand on Paige's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I'm just tired," he said after another pause, the words coming out unsteady. "And I feel like I've screwed up royally, or you all wouldn't have had to do this."

"I know," Paige said gently, turning her head to kiss his knuckles in a comforting manner. "And coming from me, this is possibly the most hypocritical moment in history, but everyone needs help once in a while. It was because it was so unlike you that we were so worried. Because we respect and love you. Silly man."

Scott could almost feel the knot in his chest trying to ease a little, loosen just a bit. He didn't want to let it. This was too easy; it would be too simple to just take Paige's words and believe them, and how would that solve the problem in the end? He'd still be floundering, still be failing...

Reading his expression, Paige sighed quietly. "Do you want my solution?" she asked, not pausing for breath before continuing, "Well, I don't have one. We're all figuring out life, here, Captain, it's from our mistakes that we learn. You don't always have to be the hero. You're still human, as much as you, or I, don't like to admit it. And no, that isn't helpful at all, is it? It's not a solid way to make sure you never screw up again. But it's the answer anyway."

Scott sighed and laid back, stretching out on the grass. "Long-term solutions that aren't really solutions," he muttered, staring up at the clouds chasing each other across the sky. "Way of the world..."

"Downright annoying if you ask me." Paige looked over at him, finding herself still clinging to her small, flat stone. "Go be human for a while. Test it out, at least. You can come back to being scary end-of-the-world man later. I even promise not to terrify everyone and take over."

"Can't," Scott sighed again, closing his eyes. "Clowns will eat me."

Paige laughed, a little harsher than she wanted. "I didn't think so, but it was worth a try."

"Don't really think I have a choice, actually," Scott murmured. The grass was weirdly soft. Cushiony. His eyes were heavy enough that opening them didn't really seem like an option all of a sudden. "All of a sudden there's not much left but Scott... think I've almost forgotten who he is..."

"He's there," she said soothingly, rolling onto her side with an elbow to prop herself up. She watched him for a moment, tilting her head, before lifting the corner of her mouth in a half smile. "I can see him right now."