xp_logs | Amanda, Theo - Saturday morning

Satisfied Domino and Nathan are talking again, Amanda heads back upstairs, only to run out of oomph half-way up. Theo comes to the rescue, as only a large hairy bear-man can. It seems the Pack has well and truly claimed Amanda as one of theirs.

Dom and Nate were talking again... no, scratch that, they were talking for the first time, really. And this was good. A pity the warm fuzzy feeling of achievement wasn't going to be enough to get her up the stairs, and despite what she'd said, she wasn't about to call Dom for help. Sitting wearily on a step half-way up, Amanda pondered the logistics of having a brief nap here, just to get her strength back up...

There was a deep, amused rumble from somewhere above her. "Why are you sleeping on the stairs?" a familiar growly voice asked fondly. "Sleeping on the stairs is not good. Beds are much better."

"Bed's all the way up the top of the stairs, tho'," Amanda pointed out, quiet reasonably, she thought. She smiled up at Theo as he came down the stairs further. "Hey. On yer way t' see Nate?"

"That was the plan." Theo tilted his great shaggy head, examining her curiously. "You look like you need rescuing, though."

"Dom's down there at the moment - you'd probably want t' wait a while. They're sortin' some stuff out." Stifling a yawn, she nodded. "An' yeah, I think I do. Embarassin' as it is - still catchin' up on rest, I think."

"Well, luckily, I'm very big, and you're very little," Theo said with one of those alarming grins that showed far too many pointed teeth. "Therefore, rescuing you is easy!" He leaned down and scooped her up as if she weighed nothing, ignoring her yelp. "Where to?"

"Second floor," she said, giggling a little once she'd gotten over the initial shock. Theo was, as he'd said, very big. "So, this is what it's like t' tower over everyone," she said, looking down at the floor, which was a lot further away than usual. "Very good for sweepin' damsels in distress off their feet."

"Usually the damsels take one look at me and that's when they decide they're in distress," Theo said mock-woefully. "And the small minority who don't... well, they're pretty scary for damsels.">

"Present company excluded?" she asked him with a wink. "'Cause I don't think I'm _that_ scary. Sneaky an' devious, yeah. But not scary."

"You're not scary, you're cute," Theo said, beaming at her. "Very cute. I keep wanting to keep you, every time I see you... I don't think the boys would mind that."

"I think Pete an' Nate might have somethin' t' say 'bout that, temptin' as it is..." Amanda replied, with a pleased blush. 'Cute' was always good. So was wanting to be kept. "How're you three doin'? I talked t' GW last night, an' it sounds like 's been a bit stressful over there."

Theo grimaced. "Okay," he said, really not sounding as if he meant anything of the sort. "Gar got hurt on a job. Didn't make me very happy. I was a little excessive when it came to dealing with the guy who did it."

She patted his shoulder, which turned into a stroking, since, ooh, fuzzy. "He'll be all right, yeah?" she asked. "Gar, I mean. Since one of you would have said somethin' if he wasn't." Her tone brooked no arguments there.

"Yeah. Just got the crap kind of beaten out of him." He gave her a stern look. "Hear that happened to you, too."

She nodded, squirming a little uncomfortably, which was difficult when you were being carried by a very large fuzzy man. "Did somethin' really stupid, an' got an object lesson in why it was really stupid," she said, off-handedly. "I'm all right - got meself a recharge down in Arizona an' managed t' heal it all up. Manuel came off worse, tho'. Dom tell you?"

"Yeah, she did." Theo looked down at her sympathetically as he kept climbing the stairs. "I like Manny. I was sorry to hear about it... sounds like a hell of a thing."

"It is. He's dealin' with it, tho'. Slowly - everythin's comin' across as a bit of a shock." Amanda's fingers tightened a little in the fur of hs shoulder, and she changed the subject. "Nate's lookin' better today. Still coughin', but 's not as bad as it was."

"That's good," Theo said, looking vastly relieved. "He scared me last night. But Moira said she thought it was the virus's last gasp for now. Apparently he probably gets to go back upstairs around dinnertime tonight."

"Oh, that's good. The docs'll be relieved - I think he's scarin' Bartlet with how co-operative he's been. No escape attempts at all. Tho' I'm startin' t' agree with her about pod-people. Ain't like Nate at all." They reached the top of the stairs, and Amanda pointed down the hallway. "That way."

"It's different when it's the virus," Theo told her as he headed towards the indicated door. "You got roommates? I don't want to scare anyone..."

"Marie-Ange. She's a pre-cog, so she probably has seen scarier stuff than you," she said with a grin. "An' she's probably off at class or somethin' any way, so yer in the clear."

"Oh, Angie! Nate's mentioned her. She was in Istanbul with you all, wasn't she?" He freed a hand to open the door, then wandered in. "Nate frets about her. She's on his list of people to fret about."

"Nate frets 'bout a lot of people. 'S what makes him Nate. One of the things, any way." Amanda drew the line at being put to bed - besides, it was covered with books right now - so she got Theo to set her on her feet. She only wobbled slightly, to her relief. "Yeah, she was there. Did really well, too - think she an' I both have a future in sneaky." She grinned at him. "Could be why we're roomies now - we get on pretty well."

"Angie wasn't the one he was talking about throwing in the lake a while ago... it was one of the other girls." Theo looked very thoughtful. "What was that name... oh! Jubilee? I think."

Amanda snorted. "That'd be right," she said, rolling her eyes a little. "Lee's the one I nearly put through the wall a while ago. Big mouth an' a total lack of anythin' resemblin' a brain. She was the one behind the mess at Halloween - decided t' go pokin' her nose in where it wasn't needed, an' got a demon set on me." She scowled at that - forgiveness was going to be hard to come by with that one.

Theo made an unhappy face. "I don't think I like her," he muttered, then looked around. "Got anywhere for a heavy-set gentleman to sit, kiddo, or should I take the floor?"

"Floor's probably best, Theo - I don't think the beds're made for heavy duty." She snickered a little at the thoughts that gave her. Well, memories, really. "She's stupid an' don't care 'bout no-one but herself is all," she went on, referring to Jubilee. "Still, she did all right in Vegas. Which I'm not supposed t' talk about, but fuck, you lot are in the same line of work, so there can't be that much harm in it..."

Theo sat down on the floor, and the furniture rattled. "I heard a very little bit about Vegas," he said wisely. "Doesn't mean you've got to like her. Hammer was competent, and none of us liked him..."

"Oh, I won't ever like her," Amanda said decisively. "But everyone seemed t' think we'd let our personal stuff get in the way of the job, an' that got up me nose a bit. 'M more professional than that, even if I am just a kid still." Obviously Haroun's comments about 'the kids' had irked her a little.

"Well, they'll be less likely to think that the next time, right? If there is a next time." He waggled an enormous finger at her. "I mean, I'd rather see you studying and giggling than on jobs, at least for a while..."

Waving the textbook she'd just sat on as she plopped onto her bed at him, she mock-pouted. "Studyin', see? An' not the magic, even. Maths." She pulled a face. "Got an algebra make-up test t' do. Bleah. Numbers suck."

"I'm not big on them myself," Theo admitted. "Then again, I've got kind of what you'd call a practical education." He gave another one of those alarming smiles. "Funny, but schools didn't really want me around much."

She snickered. "They didn't see yer warm an' cuddly side? More fool them." She tossed the textbook aside carelessly - its battered cover showed just how much Amanda hated numbers - and shoved a few more books aside to make space to curl up on her bed. "If you don't mind me askin'... where did you grow up, Theo? I can't pick the accent at all - yer've got that generic thing GW does."

Theo grinned ruefully. "I grew up in Northern Canada. Way northern Canada. My parents dumped me out in the middle of nowhere when I was about eight, I think... started getting a little too big for them or something. I barely remember them."

Amanda nodded. "Sorry, didn't mean t' pry. Sounds familiar, tho'. Only with less dumpin' in the middle of nowhere an' more lettin' someone else take me." She paused, biting down on her thumbnail a little. "I got told they'd sold me t' the bloke who brought me up, used me powers... Only that might not be true." At Theo's confused look, she sighed and clarified. "They've found me family. My birth family, not the one I have here. 'S confusin'."

Theo's eyes widened. "It doesn't ever slow down for you, does it?" he rumbled, looking troubled. "You going to do anything about it? You don't have to, you know..."

"No, not really." Her voice was wry. "I dunno yet, Theo. Haven't had the chance t' really talk about it with anyone 'cept for Ange. It turns out one of the teachers here is connected t' the same people, which makes it a bit more complicated. He an' I... don't see eye t' eye."

"One of the teachers here?" Theo let his breath out on a sigh. "Okay, is that taking the small world thing too far or what?" He gave her a sudden, sympathetic look. "You need time to think about it. Maybe over Christmas? Can't make any decisions when you're falling over exhausted from one thing or another..."

"I dunno whether it's the magic or this place, but yeah, coincidences tend t' breed around here. " Considering what he'd said, she nodded. "I think that's it - I can't think straight, what with fallin' asleep every five minutes, an' worryin' 'bout Nate, an' Manuel, an' all the rest..." She gave him a tired smile. "Just needed someone t' say it."

"Consider it said." Theo gave her a very thoughtful look. "But the falling asleep probably isn't a bad thing, if you need to be doing it. Ravelled sleeve of care and all that crap, like Nate says." He grinned suddenly. "I think that's Shakespeare."

"Uh-huh." Amanda gave him the look that teens everywhere give adults they think are being weird. "Yeah, I need the rest, I know that. 'S just gettin' old, all this nappin'. Gets in the way of havin' a life, y'know?"

"You'll get all caught up," Theo assured her. "And hey, you were the big damned hero, right? You deserve a little good karma from here on out. Not that I believe in karma. Well, maybe I do?" He got that thoughtful look again. "Maybe I just believe in streaks. You're due a good streak."

Big dammed hero? Not her. She blushed and shook her head. "Just did what had t' be done, Theo, same as the docs would have done if they'd been able. Doesn't make me a hero."

"Why?" Theo gave her an innocent look. "I think doctors are heroes. I tell Moira she is sometimes. It makes her blush." He grinned toothily. "Kind of like you are right now. That's funny!"

Amanda blushed some more. Gah, what had happened to the street punk who had no shame? "'Cause... 'cause I ain't, is all." She pouted at him. "Yer teasin' me."

"Well, maybe about the blushing, but not about the other stuff," Theo said very firmly. "People who put other people back together are special. Takes a lot of skill and stuff. Just because I have a healing factor doesn't mean I don't appreciate that."

"It's not... I mean, the doctors, they're special, yeah. They study for ages an' put in the long hours an' all. I just walk in an' say a few words an' presto! All fixed." Well, there was the falling over later and the whole transfer of energy as well, but she was glossing over that. "Nothin' special."

Theo gave her a very steady look. "You're falling all over yourself being... what's the word, self-deprecating. It's cute. You spend too much time with Nate, don't you?"

"Yer the second person t' say that t' me," she complained, still blushing. "'S nothin' t' do with him, 's just... Argh. I just don't think people should be fallin' over 'emselves tellin' me how great I am. Doesn't feel right."

"You get plenty of people falling all over themselves to tell you when you do something wrong, right?" Theo said very reasonably. "So why not the other way around, too?"

"That's exactly why it doesn't feel right," Amanda admitted. "People aren't supposed t' tell me I've done good, just when I fuck up. 'S messin' with me head."

Theo gave a rumbling laugh. "But it's the good kind of messing with your head. Might get your head unmessed, no?"

"Uff, now yer bein' logical at me too," Amanda said with another pout, but there was an amused glint in her eyes. "'S just takin' a while t' get used to it all, y'know?"

"You should've been there for when Nate was trying to teach me about how food didn't have to be fresh-killed and raw to be good," Theo said, a twinkle in his eyes by this point, too. "Took me a while to learn that."

Amanda wrinkled her nose at that. "That would've been fun t' watch," she said, yawning again a little and covering it with her hand. The room was getting very warm and fuzzy...

Nodding in satisfaction, Theo go up. "You go to sleep, kiddo," he told her. "Promise we won't sneak away before you wake up or anything."

"How'd you know I was wonderin' about that?" she asked, sleepily, toeing off her shoes - the slip-ons were good for that, she'd realised - and crawling under the blanket. "'Bout you leavin', I mean?"

Theo shrugged. "'Cause you're one of us," he said easily, "and we all worry about getting left behind."

She smiled at that, the expression pleased. "Thanks, Theo," she said, curling up and burrowing into the pillow. "For everythin'. See you later." There was no question there, just certainty.

Theo watched her for a moment - she fell asleep like someone had turned off a light - and then crept over to the bed, adjusting the blanket over her before he headed back out of the room. If Nate and Dom were sorting stuff out, he'd find something else to do. Maybe Miles was about.