Timelined the day after the events of Shattered Dreams
<Hope> Coffee was calling Hope's name. She poked the coffee pot, trying to get it to brew faster. It sucked having to wait for it. Couldn't it be faster? Couldn't they afford a faster brewing one?
<Paige> Paige bounced into the kitchen in search of her own coffee. Anna had fixed her up, which would make Bobby happy. Now it was time to make herself happy. She paused in the doorway, seeing the familiar form of the redheaded escape artist. "Hello, Hope!"
<Hope> Hope jumped a little, glancing behind her. She was so putting a bell on that woman. "Hey Guthrie-soon-to-be-Drake."
<Paige> Grinning, Paige moved to join her at the coffee pot, bending down to examine how quickly it was brewing. "Smells fantastic!"
<Hope> Hope smirked a bit. "Yeah. I may not be able to boil water, but I can brew some fantastic coffee."
<Paige> Laughing, Paige smiled at her. She straightened up to look at her properly. "Hope... can I ask you something?"
<Hope> Shrugging, Hope didn't see the harm in that. "Sure, what's up?"
<Paige> Paige bit her lip. "Why... why didn't you take any security with you to the hospital?"
<Hope> Hope squirmed a bit, sighing. She glanced at the door. No Bobby. Good. She looked back at the blonde professor. "Because Bobby and Shaw don't get along. I didn't want to referee. It was supposed to be a happy visit."
<Hope> "And then there's Stan and Phil... I couldn't really take Phil to celebrate your engagement to another guy."
<Paige> It was Paige's turn to wince a bit. "We didn't really date... but I can see where your heart was." Paige grabbed them two mugs and poured the coffee into them. "Though neither of them really justify going alone."
<Paige> Paige poured sugar into her coffee, then stirred it with her spoon. "Hope... what do you think happens every time you sneak off?"
<Hope> Hope shifted with her cup. "I get yelled at. And people overreact and think I could have died."
<Paige> "Because you could. You've been hit by a sentinel twice now, losing your powers both times. You got lucky." Paige took Hope's hand with her free one. "You aren't the only one who gets yelled at when you disappear."
<Bobby> After the day he'd had, Bobby needed all the caffeine he could get. On his way to get some sweet, sweet Mountain Dew, he heard voices. He knew those voices. Skidding to the wall, he sucked up against it to figure out what fresh hell this day would bring.
<Hope> Hope cringed. She hadn't really thought about what Bobby had to deal with. Of course he'd get a tongue lashing if she did. No wonder he yelled at her. "Well that's stupid. And I don't really pop off anymore."
<Paige> "As stupid as it is, it's reality." Paige ran her fingers through her hair, shaking a little. "Hope... Do you know what would happen if... say you had been killed by that sentinel?"
<Hope> Hope blinked. "Uhhh Tony would have the fuel he needed to shut down the program? Because I'm that awesome and people would be pissed?" Shit. She automatically dropped Paige's hand to dig in her pockets. Maybe she had a quarter.
<Paige> Smiling a little, Paige patted Hope. "That's a positive thought, and maybe. But more realistically... your move yesterday, while sweet and thoughtful, could have cost me my entire family."
<Bobby> Bobby closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. Awww, Paigey... He bit down on his lower lip.
<Hope> "What are you talking about?" Hope gave her a baffled look.
<Paige> Paige took a sip of her coffee, steadying her nerves. "If you die, Bobby would go back to jail. Instantly. No questions asked. Mission failed. And Ripley..." Paige diverted her eyes to her coffee. "You know what happens when a child has no living parents. What happens to her if Bobby goes to jail, Hope?"
<Hope> It was Hope's turn to stare down into her coffee while she thought. Well that didn't make sense! "Wouldn't she just stay with you? I mean, you are about to marry the guy. She calls you Mom.... Surely any judge can see that."
<Paige> "Unfortunately, the law doesn't work that way. She would most likely go to Bobby's parents, or worse... into the same system you hated for your entire life. Your action could cause that sweet baby to lose not only her dad, but her mom too. I don't have any legal right to her." Paige set her coffee down so she could put both hands on Hope's.
<Paige> "I'm not here to lecture you. I just want you... to think about what you are doing. To think about what those actions mean for others. Just let him do his job. Yeah he complains, but he really does care about you. We all do. And just like your dad has to think about things that effect the entire country, you have to think about what your actions mean too."
<Hope> Hope watched Paige for a moment, thinking. She had thought maybe Bobby would get in trouble, but she hadn't really thought about the ripple effect. "So shouldn't you just adopt her? I mean really."
<Bobby> Bobby rolled his eyes. Always had an argument.
<Paige> Paige gave Hope a look. "That's beside the point and you know it." She picked up her coffee again with both hands, taking a careful sip. "Besides... I can bring that up later. After we're married. After we're settled. The important thing, is for you to stop and think before you act. If not for your own sake... for Ripley's."
<Hope> Hope nodded. "Yeah. Ok. If it means I don't have to have anymore of these... conversations." She made a face. "And if you don't.... hug me." Hope sighed as she was indeed hugged by the blonde. Reluctantly... she hugged her back.
<Paige> "Thank you, Hope!" Paige even kissed her cheek, laughing at the faces Hope made. "Embrace your celebrity status! Take the limo every now and then. It won't last forever."
<Bobby> Was it safe? Was it over? Bobby bounced a little on his heels, then peeked around the corner. They were hugging. Bet Hope loved that.
<Hope> Smiling, Hope nodded. "I should take the limo more often. Limos are awesome."
<Paige> "I know, right?! I would totally get a pink one if I was all famous now."
<Hope> "I cannot begin to express how terrifying that is. I bet Drake would just love that. Rollin' up in a pink limousine."
<Paige> Paige laughed happily and grinned, putting a finger over her lips. "Shhh don't tell him. It'll be a surprise someday maybe."
<Hope> Laughing with her, Hope nodded. "Yeah ok. My lips are sealed."
<Bobby> "I be rollin' like a pimp in a pink limousine, yo yo yo." He rounded the corner and headed straight for Paige to give her a kiss, and give Hope a side eye.
<Paige> Paige squealed slightly, hugging him tightly and returning the kiss. "Hi honey!"
<Hope> Making a side eye back, Hope shifted uncomfortably. "Hey Drake."
<Bobby> "Hey, Stark." He held onto Paige, then pulled back, surprised. "Your face!"
<Paige> "What's wrong with it?!" Paige was instantly hysterical, hands going up to feel it.
<Hope> Hope just laughed.
<Bobby> "It's beautiful!" He laughed, grabbing her hands. "It's always beautiful, but I meant it's all better!"
<Paige> "Oh!" Paige giggled, relieved. "I went to see Anna after I woke up. She fixed me right up."
<Bobby> "She sure did." He took her face in his hands and kissed her nose.
<Hope> Hope cleared her throat a little. "Um before I gag... I wanted to say something, Drake."
<Paige> Paige kissed the tip of Bobby's nose before glancing at Hope. What now?
<Bobby> He slid his arm around Paige and faced the Stark. "Yeah?"
<Hope> Seeing them together like that was even more awkward. She cleared her throat again. "I just wanted to say... I didn't mean to sneak off really. And I'm sorry."
<Bobby> "....is that an apology?" He looked at Paige and clutched a hand to his chest. "Is a Stark apologizing?"
<Paige> Paige just nodded through some tears. "She is!"
<Bobby> He did a double-take at that. Why was she crying?! Not it!
<Hope> "Yeah I'm also sorry you are an ass." Whoops. There went another quarter. Hope set two of them down on the counter.
<Bobby> "Yeah, you know what? Since I got called out of the middle of class to the news that my fiancee's hospital was under attack and your panic button had been pushed and got reamed about why the fuck I wasn't with you, I'm sorry you think I'm an ass."
<Hope> Crossing her arms across her chest, Hope raised an eyebrow. "Maybe if you could get along with people, I wouldn't have felt the need to leave you behind to spare your feelings."
<Bobby> He was utterly confused. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
<Hope> Hope just smirked. "It means that Shaw..." But one look at Paige stopped Hope. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I said I was sorry. And you owe a quarter." Hope took a careful sip of her coffee. "And the next time I go with Shaw to have lunch with your fiancee, I'll be sure to bring you."
<Bobby> "Shaw what? What does that dick have to do with any of this? Look, I'm grateful he helped Paige - and you - and I'll tell him that when he's not all drooling into a pillow, but whatever. Stop trying to change the subject - you always do this!"
<Paige> Paige looked between them, really uncomfortable. She didn't even know which one of them she should try to calm. Hope looked scary calm... like she was almost enjoying it. Bobby it was. She squeezed his arm, looking up at him. "I think we're all just stressed."
<Bobby> "Yeah, stressed covers it all right," he gave a crazed laugh and ran his hand through his hair.
<Hope> Grinning, Hope took a sip of coffee. "Oh he just took her a gift. That's all. Nothing major."
<Bobby> Her words sunk in slowly. "Wait, what?" He knew her grin meant evil things, so he looked at Paige questioningly.
<Paige> Paige wanted to crawl in a hole and stay there. "He brought me a necklace. I didn't really think about it. I don't even know what happened to it. I forgot to take it off when I turned to metal."
<Paige> <Hope> "Just a Tiffany diamond necklace."
<Bobby> Even Bobby knew that Tiffany meant money. Big money. "He what?!" He looked at Paige, confused. "Why?" Then he shook his head and went over to the fridge to get a drink. "Yeah, you know what - I know why. Because he's a womanizer, and apparently Jess isn't enough." He jerked the door open to find a soda, making everything rattle. "Yeah, fuck that asshole."
<Paige> Paige took a step back, pressing her hands to her face. Well this was a mess. "Maybe you should go, Hope."
<Paige> <Hope> Excellent idea. She smiled sweetly and headed for the door. "Take care, Drake."
<Bobby> "That's easier when you aren't trying to send me back to prison, Stark." He found a soda and slammed the door, making the fridge rock.
<Paige> Paige set her cup down gently in the sink, starting the water so she could wash it. She didn't know what to say to Bobby. She had hoped that her talk with Hope would help smooth things over, not light a stick of dynamite. She poured the soap into the sink and watched the bubbles form as the sink filled.
<Bobby> He opened the bottle and took a long drink. Hope, of course, had ran, since that was what she did. But that meant Paige was still here, and he owed way more money now.
<Paige> She dug her hands into the hot water and winced, quickly pulled them back out so she could add some cold water. She glanced over at Bobby, again wishing a hole would just swallow her up. Her mind raced for a way to fix this.
<Bobby> "Look... I'm sorry, I know you think he's your friend, but he's... well he's a predator. He's all... smooth and smarmy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't trying to move in on you since Jess is all knocked up."
<Paige> "Robert Drake. Do you even hear yourself?" Paige turned off the water so she could look at him.
<Bobby> "What?" He looked back at her, confused. "Yeah? It's... well it's true. You, like, always want to see the best in people, and sure he sometimes seems okay, but..." Bobby shook his head.
<Paige> "Do you really think so little of yourself and me that if he really tried you think he would succeed?"
<Bobby> "It's... what does that have to do with it? I know that you wouldn't, like, fall into bed with him, but he might try."
<Paige> Paige smiled softly and moved to him so she could pull him to her. "He wouldn't anyway, but let him try. Then you can rub it in his face that he failed." She leaned up and kissed Bobby's nose softly. "He's just a friend. And he was just being nice. If he ever makes a real move, I promise I'll tell you. Then you can kick his butt. And rub it in his face."
<Bobby> "Yeah he likes having his butt kicked, which is part of the problem... and rubbing a butt in his face might be a kink too, you never know." He smiled at the nose kiss, though.
<Paige> Wrinkling her nose at Bobby, Paige reached up to ruffle his hair. "You worry too much. I finally got you. I'm not going anywhere now."
<Bobby> "That's a whole lot of nice though..."
<Paige> And it had been gorgeous too. How could she reassure him? "It was pink and sparkly. Everyone knows I like pink and sparkly."
<Bobby> Bobby let out a gusty sigh. "Yeah, well... so was your ring." He made a face. "I should have gotten it back from him last night, but it was late and he was all out of it."
<Paige> "But you are missing something. The ring matters to me because you gave it to me. That's why I took it off. That's why I handed it to him. I forgot about the necklace. It's probably destroyed by now." She covered her face with her hands. "I just hope the ring isn't."
<Bobby> "We can call Jess and see if she can check. He's probably still at the SHIELD hospital. Doubt they would have let him out." He took another swig of soda and leaned against the counter.
<Paige> Leaning up against the opposite counter, Paige studied him. Not knowing what to say, she looked down at her shoes.
<Bobby> Bobby shifted uncomfortably. "I need to apologize to him anyway." He cleared his throat and took another drink. "I maaaay have....frozenhiscar," he finished with a cough.
<Paige> Her blue eyes shot up quickly. "Not the Aston!?"
<Bobby> "Yeaaaaaah." It was his turn to check out his shoes.
<Paige> "Oh Bobby..." Paige sighed. She liked that car.
<Bobby> "I would offer to pay for the tires, but... well I probably can't even afford those," he laughed. Might need wheels and suspension work too... He winced.
<Paige> Paige crossed the kitchen so she could lean on the counter next to him. "He'll take care of it. Money doesn't mean the same thing to him. The important thing is we didn't lose anyone. I'll do whatever it takes to help you feel secure. Starting with picking a new maid of honor."
<Bobby> God why didn't winning feel as good as it should? He winced and kept up his study of his Chuck Taylors.
<Paige> "Hey," Paige tried to make eye contact. "You are who matters to me. Our marriage is what matters to me, even if we aren't married yet."
<Bobby> Bobby looked up slowly and met her eyes with a sheepish grin. "I know... and I love that. I love you." And this was the hard part. Really, really, really hard. "Buuuut I meant it last night. He's your friend, and maaaaybe I overreacted..."
<Paige> A slight shift moved her in front of him where she could easily place her hands against his and lace their fingers together. "If I thought someone was trying to take you away, I might overreact too."
<Bobby> "But still... he helped you and I wrecked his car for it, then I scared his wife..."
<Paige> "Not exactly the hardest task to accomplish," Paige pointed out. "She worries herself."
<Bobby> "Well yeah, but she's huge and I didn't want to make her... like, pop... and then seeing them at the hospital, when he woke up, I did feel bad..."
<Paige> "Hospital? Wait what? Why is he in the hospital?! I thought he was fine?!"
<Bobby> Oh... shit. "Yeah... I'm sorry, you were asleep when I got in with Rip." He winced, licking his lips and squeezing her hands. "That's what took so long. I had to take Jess to the SHIELD med center on base. He, um..." Bobby frowned, trying to remember exactly what the nurse had told him.
<Paige> "He what?!" Paige bounced with impatience.
<Bobby> "Well they did emergency surgery. After Phil and Stan took Hope, one of the agents realized he was in shock." He really should have told her this, shouldn't he? Especially since she was a doctor... Good job, Drake.
<Paige> Paige mentally kicked herself. "I should have checked him over better. At all. I let him down. Where is Hope?! Did anyone really check her over?! What if she has internal injuries?!"
<Bobby> "Well she looked fine..." He was still plenty pissed at her, even if he was again softening on Sharky. "It was internal bleeding, and he had a, uh, partially collapsed lung... from his broken ribs. They had to take something out of him... forget what it was."
<Bobby> "His liver?"
<Paige> She abandoned him to lean against the far counter again, thinking that over.
<Bobby> "I should have told you." He winced, taking another drink to have something to do. "Sorry. It was late, and this morning was busy... and yeah... still kinda pissed at him..."
<Paige> "It's not like I can do anything," she all but whispered to him. "Someone should sneak Anna in to see him."
<Bobby> "Yeah. He woke up while I was there. Still no powers and the nurse gave him pain meds. He... didn't mention the car." Something which Bobby hated to be grateful for. "Glared at me though."
<Paige> "Well at least his brain is functioning," Paige muttered, kicking the counter behind her with her foot.
<Bobby> Bobby wasn't sure how to take that, but the kick was something. "It's not your fault."
<Paige> Paige gave him a look. "He was buying me time. It is my fault."
<Bobby> "He was what now?" It occurred to him he still didn't really know what had happened in there.
<Paige> "I was saving infants. He lured the sentinel away to give us time."
<Bobby> Bobby winced. "Oh."
<Paige> "I know you don't like him... and you think he's trying to get in my pants or whatever... but he didn't have to do that. He could have saved himself. He could have just grabbed Stark and ran, like he was supposed to." It was then that Paige remembered her dishes. She crossed to the sink to finish that task.
<Bobby> "Oh." He found the label of his soda bottle really interesting and started picking at it.
<Paige> The silence was killing her. Paige rinsed off the dishes and pulled the plug to let the water drain. "I don't want to fight."
<Bobby> "I'll apologize to him." He started peeling the label. "Get him a bottle of scotch or something."
<Paige> After drying her hands off, Paige leaned back against her own counter and watched him. "He'd like that."
<Bobby> Something sounded wrong about that now that he'd said it. Scotch... liver... Work, brain, work! "Oh! No, it was his spleen." Bobby cocked his head. "What's a spleen anyway?"
<Paige> "It filters blood. It's part of the immune system." Paige crossed back over to Bobby.
<Bobby> "Gross. Like an oil filter." Bobby wrinkled his nose and took a nervous sip of his soda. "So... guess that's conclusive proof he's not a robot?"
<Paige> That got Paige to smile a little. "Yeah, he is clearly not a robot."
<Bobby> Her smile made him smile. "You should go see him." He leaned to catch her eyes. "He's still in the wedding." His nose twitched sideways. "I'll apologize. Just... gimme a day or two..."
<Paige> She tackled him in a tight hug. "Take all the time you need."
<Bobby> Surprised, he returned the hug and squeezed his eyes closed. "Thanks, Paigey..." He sighed, happy she understood. "Take him some cookies. Just leave me some."
<Paige> "I will always make sure you have cookies before I give some to someone else... unless that someone else is me... and I eat them all first."
<Bobby> "That's fair," he laughed. "Cookies and gummies."
<Paige> Paige giggled and smiled up at him. "Nah, gummies I will wait to share."