Current timeline
<Paige> Paige sat on the edge of the bed, though she had stripped it down to white sheets. The oasis of white in the sea of pink made her feel somewhat better, but that color bothered her. She wasn't sure why it bothered her, but she knew it did. She hugged her knees to her chest and worried about Robert and Rachel. Were they ok?
<Bobby> Paige, he decided, had been hiding long enough. How was she supposed to remember who she really was if all she did was stay in a room she didn't remember, away from everyone she should? So, he knocked on her door.
<Paige> Staring at the door didn't make the knocking stop or the door open. "Come in?" she offered.
<Bobby> Licking his lips, he opened the door and stopped just inside. "Hey, Paigey," he tried.
<Paige> She winced at the name but then just stared at him. "What are you doing here?" She asked, though in her usual gentle voice.
<Bobby> She looked... like Paige, although... tired. And he noticed the sheets. "Well... I wanted to welcome you back." He sighed, running his hand through his hair and toying with the door knob. "Though... I realize you probably don't even remember me."
<Paige> "I remember you... you were a bully in high school." She kept her knees pressed against her chest, wishing John was there. Then she remembered that they told her John wasn't really her husband. She swallowed a lump in her throat.
<Bobby> Bobby's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "I was a what?" It was so ridiculous he had to laugh. "Paige... you didn't know me in high school, but believe me, I wasn't a bully. Kinda the other way around most of the time..."
<Paige> "You took my clothes after gym class and hid them." She protested.
<Bobby> He stifled a snort. "No... no I really didn't, babe." Well, he would have done that, but not in high school. "You and I were both students here. We met here... I was your, um, boyfriend's best friend. My wife... she was your roommate. She became your best friend too."
<Bobby> He sighed, suddenly sad she didn't remember - thought he was some terrible person. "You... you helped me and Lorna get together... you're one of my best friends, Paige."
<Paige> "But... why don't I remember any of that?" She rubbed her forehead a bit, frustrated. What did she remember anymore?
<Bobby> "Because they made you forget." Bobby shifted, still playing with the doorknob. Finally, he closed the door and went over to the pink sofa, sinking down into it with another sigh.
<Paige> "You've spent a lot of time on that sofa," she remarked off-handedly.
<Bobby> He looked up at her, a little wary. "I did... I slept on it."
<Paige> Paige blinked a bit as that sank in and processed. "So... we are friends?" She questioned again.
<Bobby> "We are." He smiled at her, trying to look as harmless as he could.
<Paige> She looked away from him and around the room again. "It's like... being in some stranger's room. Or a hotel room."
<Bobby> "I could probably tell you where everything is," he said with a grin. "I stayed with you for... well, a long time, when I was in the doghouse with the missus."
<Paige> Paige got quiet for a moment before voicing the question that plagued her. "What is going to happen to my kids now?"
<Bobby> Bobby chewed his lip again. "They... aren't really your kids, Paige. It's... incredibly nuts that they got kids involved in this, to pretend they were yours." He hoped they hadn't been brainwashed too. Looking down, he studied his hands, twisting his wedding band nervously.
<Paige> "It doesn't matter..." She buried her face in her hands. Of course a boy wouldn't understand. "It doesn't matter if I gave birth to them or not. Those are my kids."
<Bobby> "I'm sorry, Paige." Now he could add anger to the nice stew of emotions he had going on. "It's not fair, to you or to those kids."
<Paige> "It's horrible. Maybe I'm just not meant to be a mom. That's three kids I've lost."
<Bobby> He looked up at her, then got up from the sofa to go to the bed. Crouching down at the edge, he met her eyes. "Someday you'll be an awesome mom. It sucks now though, I get that."
<Paige> Paige sniffled a bit, then hugged the cute blonde guy. "Thank you, Bobby."
<Bobby> "Well, yay," he chuckled, returning the hug tightly and closing his eyes. "You remember my name at least..."
<Paige> That caused Paige to laugh too. "Yeah... hey... they named my kid after you!"
<Bobby> Bobby blinked and pulled back enough to see her, deciding this earned him a seat on her bed. "They did?"
<Paige> "Robert." She smiled at him. "So you must have been pretty important for them to do that... right?"
<Bobby> He huffed a laugh. "You, uh, sent me a letter. After you disappeared, we were worried about you, and then we got the letter. You said you wanted to start over and asked me not to try to find you. That I would have talked you out of it." He shook his head. "It's true... I really wish now I had been able to stop it."
<Paige> Paige considered this for a moment before she spoke. "I did want the cure... but I don't remember much else. I remember always wanting a cure though. I wonder if I just got impulsive."
<Bobby> "I know you don't like your powers. Didn't like..." He made a face. "But I wish you'd told me what you were thinking about."
<Paige> "I guess I can kind of apologize, but it's hard to since I don't remember why I went. If that makes sense." She ran her fingers through her hair, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. At least she still looked the same.
<Bobby> "Yeah, I know what you mean." He got up and went to her closet, opening the door and finding a pink t-shirt easily. "I... thought about taking this back. I was pissed, I guess. Hurt. But I didn't." Bobby returned to the bed and sat down, holding up her 'auntie' shirt.
<Paige> The confusion was apparent on Paige's face. Why would she wear something that... girly? Another look around the room reminded her that this version of herself was overly girly. "It's uh... shiny?" She tried.
<Bobby> Bobby sighed. She clearly didn't remember. "My wife is pregnant. You're the closest either of us has to a sister, really. So, I gave you this..." he shrugged, not sure what else to say now. "You have a family," he said, softer. "It's here with us."
<Paige> "Would you be happy if you were just an uncle?"
<Bobby> "I wouldn't be happy if I just erased a part of who I was."
<Paige> "I'm not saying that. Who knows if I knew that was part of the deal. I'm asking if that would be enough for you."
<Bobby> "It just... it seems like a really rash decision to make, considering everything you'd been through. It's just... a way to go around your real problems by blaming them on your powers." Bobby looked down at the shirt in his lap.
<Paige> "Except we don't know why the decision was made." She poked him a bit.
<Bobby> "I can guess."
<Paige> Paige poked him again. "Well a lecture won't fix anything." She stuck her tongue out at him.
<Bobby> "It wasn't... it's pointless anyways, since you don't remember anything." Bobby fiddled with the shirt, tracing the rhinestones with his index finger.
<Paige> "We were really close weren't we?" She asked, looking down at the shirt too.
<Bobby> "Yeah," he said, licking his lips and not looking at her. This sucked. Rogue, Rachel, Paige...
<Paige> Paige sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. The whole situation really sucked. "I don't know what to do now."
<Bobby> "Me neither." One thing he did know to do though was to hold her. Bobby turned and slid his arms around her, pulling her close. She didn't even smell like Paige, and it was more than a little heartbreaking.
<Paige> "Did we... ever..." Paige tried to hold onto the memory that invaded her mind. He smelled so familiar. Then it hit her. He smelled like John.
<Bobby> "Ever...?" He turned his head just enough, her hair tickling his nose. Had she just sniffed him? Then her meaning dawned on him. "Oh! No. No, we're just friends." Bobby smirked a little though.
<Paige> "Then why were you in my bed?" She gave him a very confused look. She was baffled.
<Bobby> "Because we both needed somebody, and we were there for each other." He smiled a little and brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear.
<Paige> "I am sorry for leaving," she asserted.
<Bobby> "I'm glad you're back. Even if you don't remember me." Bobby leaned in and kissed her cheek with a sad smile.
<Paige> That earned Bobby a hug. "Well, it should come back... right?"
<Bobby> "I hope so, babe. I missed you." He returned the hug and turned to whisper in her ear. "And I'll still be here for you when you do remember."
<Paige> Paige gave him an involuntary shiver at the whisper, but she giggled a bit. "Thanks, Bobby."
<Bobby> The giggle sounded so much like Paige he smiled. "Love you, Paigey."
<Paige> "You too, Bobberz." I think, she added to herself.