xp_logs | Scott and Jubilee, Monday afternoon

Jubilee goes to find Scott, who's been ignoring her since she came back from Vegas. You could even say she's wanting to pick a fight. Scott not only doesn't rise to the bait, he throws her for a loop.

Jubilee watched as Scott walked into his office, a brief bitter smile gracing her mouth. She'd been watching his office for several hours now, making sure she wasn't likely to be seen. It was the only way she'd ever get in the same place with him for more then a few minutes. She gripped the manila folder in her hand, suddenly nervous. While nothing had been said outwardly, at least not to her, you could find out almost anything if you knew how to listen properly. It would seem Mr Summers had seen fit to congratulate almost all the members of the Vegas job but her. It was the final straw in an attitude that was beginning to not only get up her nose but make her damn angry as well.

She'd found the thought of Scott deliberately avoiding her, going so far as to leave the room if she entered, somewhat amusing at first. But now...well, to be honest, she was hurt. It wasn't like she'd expected to be congratulated on a job that needed doing but the thought that everyone else but her had been...Well, maybe she had, just a little. She'd done a good job, she knew she had. She'd even gone further with her powers then she'd ever managed before. Something she might have talked to Scott about, had they been on better terms. He had been her teacher for the energy control classes, afterall.

Before she could chicken out, she walked up to his office door and entered without knocking, best not to give him a running start, he might well decide to jump out the window.

Scott froze as his office door opened and Jubilee walked in. Despite the lingering buzz from the hour or two he'd spent under the sunlamps this morning, he managed a frown. "I'd prefer you knock, Jubilee."

"Why, Scott? To give you time to jump out the window?" she asked.

She was sounding harsher then she'd wanted to. But now she was looking at him, the ache was\ back. Feeling hurt by anything wasn't usual, and it made her angry. Which was a usual emotion for her but one she didn't want right now. She pushed both down, if she was going to make any of this better, maybe she simply needed to stop feeling for awhile. It would make this talk a heck of a lot easier.

Scott gave her a brief, measuring look, then gave in to the flicker of recklessness. Maybe it was time to get it all out in the open. Or maybe he'd just spent too much time under the sunlamps. But the only other option would seem to be to physically move her aside and leave, and he had this image of her chasing him down the halls, now...

"You're giving yourself a little too much credit," he said, no real edge to the words. "I've been avoiding you, Jubilee. That doesn't mean I'm going to take it to extremes."

Shrugging, she placed the folder she'd brought with her on the table before backing off.

"It's everything I can remember about the mission, including everything I did with my powers that I'd never done before. There's probably been reports from Gumbo and Nate. Wasn't sure if any of the others had given you one, thought you might like it."

It was really all she'd come to deliver. She knew Scott liked to have all the facts, and since he hadn't been in charge of this job... Well, it had seemed like a good idea to give him a report, even if it wasn't technically needed. Scott's attitude to her might piss her off to no end but she had remembered what he said about showing maturity.

Scott perched on the edge of the desk, picking up the folder and scanning through it quickly. "I'll look forward to reading it," he said simply. "Self-assessment's a good tool. We do it with the team all the time." He looked up at her for a moment, weighing his options. "You did a good job in Vegas, Jubilee. Nathan mentioned that in his report."

"Thankyou." she said, at a loss.

She hadn't expected that, for him to tell her she'd done a good job. She'd been ready to just leave, to keep thinking no one cared about the role she'd played in the whole thing. She really was an idiot, sometimes.

"Would you have told me, if I hadn't come to see you?" she asked, her tone neutral.

Scott set the report down carefully, with a sigh. He'd go through it in detail this afternoon. "I like to think I would have," he said. "I certainly should have. I'm not so sure that I would have, though. As you pointed out," he said, looking up at her with a faint smile, "I have been avoiding you for a while now."

"I'm sorry." she said, carefully. She wanted to say this right. "I shouldn't have come after you like that, it wasn't very productive and I...I was wrong, back then. I thought I knew things and I didn't know anything at all."

Scott was silent for a long moment. His first impulse was to brush it off, tell her that she didn't owe him an apology, that everyone had been under stress that weekend. But the apology was a hell of a step, for her. He knew her well enough to know that. "I like to think I wouldn't have reacted that badly if... well, if things hadn't been piling up that weekend already." He paused. "But you really... you hit on exactly the right thing to say. Or the wrong thing. It was like you found a way past every defense I had and stabbed me right in the gut."

Jubilee nodded, her expression strained. She knew she should be feeling guilty for what she'd done to him. She also knew that right now, she couldn't. But she'd keep the thought in mind, think on the emotion like they'd told her too. "Amanda said the same thing, once. I guess I'm good at goin' for the throat. I wanted something from you, and I was willing to push you pretty damn far to get it. I been thinkin' about that, talkin' to Nate. He's been tryin' to help me, ya know? I was angry at you, for being so sure you knew what was best for me, when I didn't even know myself. I should have thought about it more, realised the teachers were only doin' what they thought was best. It wasn't about me at all."

Scott shook his head. "No," he corrected her lightly, "it was. Or at least, it was as much about you as it was me. You may have wanted something from me, but you needed something too, and--" He stopped, shaking his head regretfully. "I didn't give it to you. In my defense, I don't think I was in any condition to give it to you at that point, but that doesn't excuse me flying off the handle like that."

"I'd like to say I'm not the easiest person ta deal with when you're stressed but the truth is I'm not the easiest person to deal with ever. Did Nate tell ya that I was on the phone braggin' about gettin' rapellin' faster then Amanda in Vegas? He came by and caught me at it. It was petty and I knew it but it was easier then dealin' with how scared I was of fuckin' up. I got a long way to go, before I'm fit company but I think I could be. That's what Vegas did, Scott. I finally believe that maybe I could make a difference. That I can do something right. So I'm glad ya said what ya did back then. If you hadn't, I'd never have gotten here."

Scott shook his head again, his smile a bit rueful. "I'm glad if you think it did you some good, Jubilee," he said, and left it at that.

She nodded, opening the door. She thought that maybe this was enough for the moment. There would be other times, and other conversations hopefully. For right now, this was enough.

"I gotta go. Classes an all, just wanted to drop that off. Thank you, for sayin' I did a good job. Means a lot, to hear I did, even if I knew it already."

"You're welcome, Jubilee," Scott said, trying not to chuckle at her phrasing. "Have a good day."

She smiled, a true one without guard and left, closing the door softly behind her.