Timelined a few days after Bugs
<Shaw> Despite the situation, Sebastian felt better than he had in weeks, and he supposed it was amusing that this led to him sitting at home, alone. He sipped his favorite vintage of red wine and half-watched the Steelers home game, while he worked on a project. In truth, however, he was running the last of a diagnostic program to purge his systems of any Hellfire Club surveillance.
<Hope> Things back at school still weren't any better for Hope. She made up plenty of excuses to be anywhere but there. DC was almost worse than being home. The increased security just didn't do it for her. So, that led to her being in New York a lot. Which also meant, lots of take out and very few groceries. The problem with this, was that she had made a purchase today that would be overly obvious if brought home alone.
<Hope> She figured a few pantry staples wouldn't be too out of the ordinary to conceal it from Sebastian, who to her annoyance, was still spending a great deal of time in New York too. She balanced the paper grocery sack as she carried it into the penthouse, letting herself in as usual.
<Shaw> The security system told him Hope was there before she was even in the building, and he picked up his glass to take a longer drink of the wine. It had been awkward enough the times they'd shared the space before Monet had returned his memories. Luckily, the apartment was large and their hours irregular.
<Shaw> He hadn't seen her for a while, however, so this promised to be painful on several levels. Perhaps Tony had told her and saved him the trouble? Sebastian snorted into the glass. And perhaps he'd sprout wings and sing soprano.
<Hope> Struggling with the door, the bag, and her heels, Hope did a rare, un-Hope like thing. She fell, crashing down to one knee and dropping the bag in the process, spilling the contents across the entryway floor.
<Shaw> "Hope?" The noise alarmed him enough he didn't bother to check the security monitor on his tablet. He dropped it onto the sofa and set his drink aside, vaulting over the back of the sofa to go to the door. "Are you all right?"
<Hope> If she had thought to use his power on the way down, it might have felt wonderful. It did not, in fact, feel anything but horrible. "I'll live...." or not. Her eyes landed on exactly what she didn't want him to find. A small purple box with the biggest EPT letters on it imaginable. She closed her eyes, though she was unsure if it was from the pain or the embarrassment that was about to happen.
<Hope> Neither was preferable. She pushed up in an attempt to get the box before he noticed it.
<Shaw> Her bag had exploded its contents across the floor but he first wanted to help her to her feet, except she wasn't trying to get up. Crouching, he offered her his hand up and stopped when he realized she was scrambling for a box. Sebastian reached it easily and picked it up, his eyes on her.
<Hope> Instinct kicked in. She grabbed for the box, face already turning a brilliant shade of red.
<Shaw> Sebastian let her have it, sitting back on his heels and watching her face.
<Hope> She shoved it into the bag and started shoving the rest of the groceries on top of it, not meeting his eyes, not saying a word.
<Shaw> He sighed and helped her pick up her packages of snack food, then stood and offered her his hand again.
<Hope> Reluctantly, Hope took the offered help up. "Thanks." She set the bag down on the counter and immediately went for the freezer and a ziplock.
<Shaw> Sebastian followed her, taking a momentary detour to get his wine glass.
<Hope> She put the ziplock under the dispenser and filled it with ice. With a quick zip, she then hopped up on the counter to inspect her knee. She placed the bag on it and sighed, daring a glance at Sebastian. Well that had failed on an epic level.
<Shaw> He leaned against the kitchen island and watched her. "How is your knee?"
<Hope> "I've had worse. Should be fine. Thanks." She looked back at the knee, kicking herself mentally.
<Shaw> "You could, of course, use my abilities." Sebastian swirled his wine, stared into the glass, then slugged the rest back.
<Hope> "I could." But no. Just... no.
<Shaw> "But you would rather suffer." He stalked over to find the wine bottle on the cabinet beside her and unstoppered it, watching her from the corner of his eye.
<Hope> "It's not that bad," she assured him. It was also preferable to having his powers.
<Shaw> He was close enough to feel her unease and he poured himself a glass, then fetched one for her and poured a measure, then left it to return to his spot on the island.
<Hope> Hope stared at the glass, hard. What was he playing at? She gave him a confused look. Wine? Really?
<Shaw> Shrugging one shoulder at her expression, he kept his expression carefully blank. Really, he thought he was doing quite well at remaining calm. He rather wanted to scream.
<Hope> She rolled her eyes at him. Well, she needed to get this over with. She dug into the bottom of the bag, looking for the test. If it was negative, she could have that drink.
<Shaw> His eyes were on the box when she dug it out.
<Hope> She looked between him and the box. Rather than say, well, anything, Hope just carefully got down from the counter and headed to the bathroom.
<Shaw> Sebastian closed his eyes, chin dropping to his chest. He let out a long ragged breath.
<Hope> "Just say it," she half snapped.
<Shaw> Perhaps she'd picked up his abilities after all, since he'd thought she was out of earshot. He jerked and looked up. "There's nothing to say until you take that test, I would venture."
<Hope> That earned him a door slam as she shut the bathroom door.
<Shaw> He snorted, taking a drink of the wine and wandering back into the living room to stare blankly at the television. The Steelers were losing. Of course they were. He wondered if he should get dressed.
<Hope> The peeing part was easy. The waiting part was not. Hope flushed and got her hands washed, then just sat there, staring at the little stick.
<Shaw> Christ, how long did it take her to pee? Sebastian looked at the hall leading to the bathroom, then back to the television. Hall, television. Hall, television.
<Hope> How long did it take a stupid stick to decide!? Hope was just about to throw the stupid thing at a wall when the little hourglass stopped turning. Fear filled Hope. What did it say? She carefully leaned over to read it.
<Shaw> The tablet gave a discreet beep, catching his attention, and Sebastian bent to pick it up. Aha, finally.
<Hope> Pregnant. The word cut through Hope like a knife. Life was over. Done. Finished. She sank to the floor, pressing her hands to her face. What was she going to do?
<Shaw> She really had been in there for some time now, and he looked at the hall, sucking at his teeth in indecision. Finally, he dropped the tablet back on the sofa, put his wine aside and went down the hall.
<Shaw> "Hope?" He tapped the door.
<Hope> "Yeah?" she called, not moving from her spot.
<Shaw> "We should talk, Little Stark." Leaning on the door frame, he listened for movement inside.
<Hope> The name brought a slight smile to her face, but just slightly. "Yeah... yeah we do. It's open."
<Shaw> Sebastian opened the door and found her on the floor. "Oh, Hope," he sighed. The test was on the edge of the sink and he picked it up, reading the result as unnecessary as it was.
<Hope> She scrubbed her face and glanced up at him. There couldn't possibly be worse news... until she did a little math in her head.
<Shaw> He'd already done the math and he joined her on the floor.
<Hope> "What am I going to do?" She finally asked him, leaning her head against him.
<Shaw> "I don't know, my dear." Sebastian was a little surprised she'd voluntarily touched him, considering. "How likely..." He stopped, thought about this. "Is it, ah..." There was really no diplomatic way to put this. "We can get you a professional test in the morning."
<Hope> She started to get offended, but sighed. There were two possibilities after all. "Yeah... yeah that'd be good. I need to know."
<Shaw> "Those tests aren't foolproof." He would know, after all.
<Hope> "Better than nothing. Either way... this isn't going to go well."
<Shaw> "Well, no." He cleared his throat. "That goes without saying."
<Hope> Hope nudged him just a little, no effort for much more. "Yeah... no joke."
<Shaw> He turned his head to look at her for a moment, then sighed. "I'm so sorry, Little Stark."
<Hope> "It's not exactly your fault, but I appreciate it." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know who is going to be more pissed. Tony or Chris."
<Shaw> "No, I owe you an apology." He winced slightly, thinking of Tony's reaction. He doubted pissed would cover it as much as maniacal glee. Carefully, he put his arm around her.
<Hope> She leaned against him, glancing up a bit. "For what?"
<Shaw> "Well, as you no doubt noticed, I haven't been quite myself," he said drily.
<Hope> "Well... yeah... but so?"
<Shaw> Chewing his lip for a moment, he rested his head against the wall. "The Lord Imperial ordered Monet to wipe my mind."
<Hope> Her eyes blinked a few times as that processed. She started to ask why, but the reasons really didn't matter. She glanced over at him again. "I didn't know about it."
<Shaw> "I know you didn't. He called me to England... for judgment. He specifically excluded those he believed would ally with me." He tipped his chin down to look at her again.
<Hope> Despite herself, Hope managed a slight smile at that. "Damn right I would have."
<Shaw> "I'm relieved to know you're still on my side, my dear." He kissed her forehead, giving her a tired smile. "But... the rest, the reasons, it can wait. We need to get you seen to first."
<Hope> "I'm always on your side... except in hockey. Penguins rule!" She tried to smile again, but the mention of what she had to do next put a damper on her mood.
<Shaw> He smiled at her exclamation, then sighed. "I gather you're still not on good terms with Mr. Nord?" Now that he remembered Chris, his tone of disapproval was back.
<Hope> "I don't think I'm ever on good terms with him lately," she admitted. "Maybe you should go talk to him."
<Shaw> Sebastian gave her a disbelieving look. "Unfortunately, and for many reasons, a good solid punch to defend your honor would be rather awkward."
<Hope> "Depends on who does the punching," she smirked and shook her head. "After we get the test... then... then I can deal with that... so I'll know how to deal with that."
<Shaw> "If it's... mine," he started carefully. How was he ever going to explain this to Jessica? "Well, point of fact even if it's not, but especially if it is, I will do my best to help you, in whatever way you need."
<Hope> "I appreciate it, but I don't expect you to do much... I mean... assuming you can fix things with Jessica. I don't expect to be invited to Thanksgiving, is what I'm getting at."
<Shaw> "Jessica is pregnant."
<Hope> "So you have double the reasons to fix things with her then.... stud." Hope smirked at him.
<Shaw> The smirk was returned.
<Hope> "But really... nobody has to know. They will all assume it belongs to Chris anyway."
<Shaw> "But we will know," he said quietly.
<Hope> "And that's fine. But the people who would be the most hurt if it got out are Jess and Chris."
<Shaw> "I don't hide things from Jessica." He swallowed heavily. "She and I are already reconciled... she knows what happened, but I needed to ensure this apartment was clear before I told you."
<Hope> "Well, I'm not telling her."
<Shaw> "No, it's my place." He ran his thumb over his empty ring finger. "I'm not sure how long we'll need to carry on the ruse that I don't remember her, or you."
<Hope> "I can play along," she assured him, sighing as she got to her feet and offered him a hand up.
<Shaw> "Good." He took her hand, giving it a squeeze as he got to his feet. Smirking, he leaned in to whisper. "Then you can help me plan how to kill the Lord Imperial, too."
<Hope> She shivered at the whisper on her ear, but smiled a genuine smile. "Nothing would please me more."