Moira and Scott, Wednesday night

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

After she and Nathan arrive back at the mansion, Scott stops in to check on Moira. And maybe fusses, just a little.


Scott knocked a bit hesitantly on the door of Nathan and Moira's suite. Upon hearing a quiet call to come in, he opened the door and did so, smiling faintly at the sight of Moira frowning down at a suitcase. "Not wanting to unpack?" he asked lightly. "Can't really blame you."

Moira glanced up and smiled faintly. "Everythin' seems surreal," she said, sighing as she shook her head. She knew she was still paler than her normal coloring and the bags under her eyes were a dead give away to the fact that she wasn't sleeping well.

Scott closed the door quietly behind him and studied her carefully. "I can't even imagine, Moira," he said softly. "I'm relieved that you're all back here and safe, but I'm so sorry this happened." Nightmarish, he'd called it when talking to Hank. It was still the best word he could imagine. "Have you talked to Charles yet? I know he's read the report."

"Nay, not yet. Been takin' me sweet time getting' ta 'is office." Her smile was a little more alive this time. "Really bad at listenin' ta me own advice. I will soon, though. I will be okay, Scott. In a while."

He perched on the edge of the couch, the faint smile still playing on his lips. "I hope you at least had a decent Christmas, before this happened?" She, and Nathan, had deserved that much. "Here I was hoping that the two of you would have a nice, quiet couple of weeks..."

There was a little laugh at that. "Ye were nay th' only one," Moira said wistfully. "Aye, we did 'ave a nice, quiet Christmas. Jus' th' two o' us before we went over an' were bombarded by th' family."

"That's something, at least." Scott sighed, shaking his head. "If you need some more time off," he ventured, "I hope you realize that the rest of us would cover classes and so forth, no questions asked. I mean, I assume Charles will probably tell you that when you see him anyway, but I figured repetition couldn't hurt in this case." He managed a slightly stronger smile.

"Workin' right now, Scott, is wha's goin' ta clear me 'ead." There was a stubborn look about her. "I'm nay 'bout ta bow out o' me duties, nay when I'm needed. It'll 'elp, trust me, ta keep me workin'."

Yeah, just about what he'd expected... "You will have some things you need to sort out back on Muir, though, I'm assuming," he said more firmly. Part of Alison's report had mentioned Dr. Campbell vanishing. "I'll leave that to you and Charles, though. I just wanted to make sure you knew that we're here if you need us..."

A look crossed Moira's face, half irritated and half saddened. "Aye, I'm nay sure when I'll 'ave ta go back over there. I'm 'opin' I can do wha' I can from 'ere but...th' assistants are good but they're not trained ta 'andle th' facilities like Rory was. Or I am. An' I do know yer 'ere, it 'elps a great deal."

"Good." Scott looked at her for a moment longer, then followed his impulse and got up, going over to give her a very gentle hug. "You need to look after yourself, too, you know. You realize we're all going to be Nate's henchmen on that score."

Quickly, she relaxed into the hug. She'd never really been one to turn down physical affection, just never pursued it. "I figured," she muttered, chuckling a little bit. "Yer all goin' ta be mother 'ens for a verra long time."

"Just giving as good as we get," Scott said with a soft laugh of his own. "You spend so much time taking care of us. Now the shoe's on the other foot. Cope." He drew back a little, giving her a long, measuring look. "Have you had anything to eat since the two of you got back?" He
grinned suddenly. "Look, here I go already..."

"Yer awful," she said, laughing. "I'll try an' nay let it go ta me 'ead. Could get used ta bein' spoiled by ye lot..."

"We can't have that, can we?" Scott looked around. "I suppose your kitchenette's pretty much not-stocked... would you like me to go bring you something up from the kitchen? I think Lorna's been plotting, too, to make sure you eat properly."

"God save me from Lorna's plottin'. Th' lass can cook but I'm afraid I'd drown under th' baked goods. An' ye'd be right 'bout th' kitchenette. We dinnae bother puttin' anythin' new in there, nay when we were goin' away for a bit."

"Why don't you sit down?" Scott said, nudging her in the direction of the couch, "and I'll go see about a late lunch. Where's Nathan?"

"Doin' wha' I should be doin'," Moira said, sinking almost gratefully into the comfortable cushions. It was weird being bullied--however politely--by someone other than Nathan. Maybe she could get used to this. "'e's talkin' wit' Charles."

"Ah." Probably a good thing, given some of those comments on the staff journal yesterday. "What would you like? Something easy on the stomach, I'm betting..."

She thought about it for a second, mentally testing what she was up to. "Today, aye yer right. All th' events 'ave made th' mornin' sickness inta day sickness. An' night sickness."

"I'm not surprised," Scott said gently. "Want me to bring a Nathan up along with lunch?"

"Yer a saint, Scott," Moira said, smiling brightly.