6/12 Instance: Cracking Ice

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Slarti
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Title: Damn Not Given
Nightscrawlearth Character: :icey :phoenix

6/12 Instance: Cracking Ice

Post by Slarti »

Timelined after What She Deserves

<Hope> Shinobi was sleeping soundly in their bed at the Ritz when Hope slipped out of it, closing the bedroom door behind her. She sighed, lingering there. She'd tried to sleep. Perhaps she had. At any rate, she couldn't anymore. She made her way back to the windowseat to peer down at the people below.

<Bobby> Bobby didn't notice her at first, since he had the volume turned down on the television and was intently watching Scooby Doo from his seat on the ottoman.

<Hope> Hope went to lean her forehead against the window pane, but moved too quickly, banging it. "Ow..."

<Bobby> He jerked, nearly falling off the overstuffed bit of furniture, but smoothly recovered to roll to his feet. "Hope?" After a blink, he lowered his guard.

<Hope> She rubbed her head, jumping a bit at his voice. "Bobby?"

<Bobby> "Yeah, hey! You okay?" He strolled over to her, cramming his hands in his pockets. "I, um, kind of live here for the moment, so yes, Bobby it is."

<Hope> "I'll be fine," she assured him, looking up at him. "You don't have to live here..." though she was glad he was.

<Bobby> "Yeah, I do, but it's fiiiiine." He ramped up his grin. "I mean look at this place. Swank."

<Hope> "You should have brought Paige with you or something. We're boring."

<Bobby> "If Paige came then Ripley is part of the package. Aaaaand maybe Yoda."

<Hope> And a kid was not something Hope could deal with. She nodded, swallowing and looked back out the window. All her good feelings and strength from her talk with Obi seemed to evaporate.

<Bobby> He glanced toward the bedroom door. "Prince Charming out cold?"

<Hope> Nodding, Hope slid her arms around her waist. "I wish I was."

<Bobby> "Couldn't sleep? He hog the covers?" He tried to not picture that, since the idea of them together still hit him straight in the squick.

<Hope> "I've never been much of a sleeper," she pointed out.

<Bobby> "Well, yeah, but you've been through a... thing." David had finally filled him in on the details Carol had conveniently missed and now he was even more worried. "So you should rest."

<Hope> She shrugged a little, glancing over at him again. "Obi is the one who needs the rest."

<Bobby> "You sure about that, babe?" He edged a little closer.

<Hope> "He just had surgery. Nearly died."

<Bobby> "That's not what I meant." Which she already knew, he suspected. "I mean, how are you doing with all this?"

<Hope> She just gave him a look. "How do you think?"

<Bobby> He cocked his head and pretended to look her over. "Pretty shitty."

<Hope> It made her smile jut a little. "Have I told you that you're my favorite?"

<Bobby> "I get that a lot," he said with a grin and bumped her shoulder with his own.

<Hope> Hope flinched just a little, trying to cover that with a smile. "Yeah."

<Bobby> He didn't miss her weird reaction, however. "So," he said, turning toward the window. "What was it we were staring at?"

<Hope> "I don't know..." she admitted, looking out again. "Just nice to see outside."

<Bobby> He nodded, and let her have a few moments of quiet. "I know, you know. What it's like. I've been there before, and so have you. People like us... we survive. We go on." During his little speech, he watched her from the corner of his eye. "If you want to talk about it..."

<Hope> She shook her head no, swallowing hard. "I told Obi I would at some point..."

<Bobby> "It takes time. Dee was there, of course, for most of... Doc Feelgood. But we didn't talk about it. Not to each other. There... wasn't a reason to. We knew."

<Hope> "He doesn't know," she told him quietly. "Not really."

<Bobby> "He doesn't know what happened to you when you were separated?" He turned his head to watch her profile.

<Hope> "Not really, no. He knows as much as David knows, if he's told you anything." She pulled her knees up, trying to hide the cramp in her stomach. When would those stop?

<Bobby> "He did, but I don't know if he told me everything." Bobby squinted up at the blue sky.

<Hope> "Maybe Obi feels more like talking," she offered, pressing her face into her knees so she could grimace.

<Bobby> "He's not the one I'm worried about," he said, sneaking a glance at her.

<Hope> As the cramp passed, Hope glanced up at him again. "I'll be fine."

<Bobby> He grinned and shook his head. "Can't kid a kidder, babe."

<Hope> Hope smiled just a little, reaching out her hand for him.

<Bobby> Bobby took it and gave it a squeeze, sitting down carefully beside her.

<Hope> She rested her head back against the window, looking down again. "Thanks, Bobby."

<Bobby> "No problemo, babe." He shifted to see out the window too.

<Hope> "Keep an eye on him... Will you?"

<Bobby> It took him a moment to realize who he was talking about. "Sharky junior?"

<Hope> She nodded. "Just keep an eye on him. Make sure he's okay."

<Bobby> His nose wrinkled.

<Hope> "Please... " she looked over at Bobby, pleading with him.

<Bobby> "Do I gotta?" His voice took on a whining tone and he warmed up the puppy dog eyes.

<Hope> "I'm worried about him, Bobby."

<Bobby> Realizing she was serious, he sighed. "He's out of the woods from the injury right? I mean, Sharky wouldn't let him hang out in a hotel if he needed to be in the hospital right?"

<Hope> "It's not that... he's just found out who he is. Who he really is. He's not taking it well."

<Bobby> That brought him up short and he gave her a blank stare. "Who is he?"

<Hope> Hope stared out the window again. "Essex took DNA from Sebastian and Oyama's granddaughter. He's... who came out of that artificial combination."

<Bobby> Bobby's stare continued. What the everloving fuck? "Um... the fuckity fuck?"

<Hope> "Accurate." Hope stared out the window, resting her temple against the windowpane once more.

<Bobby> "Um..." Wait, so Sharky junior was... "He's... um..."

<Hope> She nodded carefully, mindful of the glass. "Yeah. He's that. And it's given him.... issues over who he is."

<Bobby> "I'm confused," he complained.

<Hope> "Somewhere between a clone and IVF."

<Bobby> "But..." He raised a hand, waved it vaguely.

<Hope> "What?" she asked, almost shortly.

<Bobby> "Shaw didn't know?" Fucking Essex, even dead he was making his life complicated. Blinking, he wondered if Anna knew about this.

<Hope> "Do you think he'd have let that happen? Or let him live if he had?" Hope shot Bobby a look finally.

<Bobby> "Why'd he let him live now then?" He had the sense to keep his voice down and glanced over his shoulder to the bedroom door.

<Hope> The punch was instinctive, a fluid movement as she turned enough to aim the fist at Bobby. "Because!"

<Bobby> He turned back to her just in time to see the swing. Bobby frosted and ducked, catching her fist and following through to throw her off balance. "The fuck!"

<Hope> She went down, hard, but all those hours of training with David paid off. She rolled and was on her feet in an instant. "You don't just go around...." she stopped suddenly. HE did. HE went around killing marauders... and what was Obi once? A Marauder. "Nobody is touching him."

<Bobby> "No, that's why I'm here, remember?" He kept on his toes, and stayed frosty, because she had the crazy eye going on.

<Hope> "Is it?! Or you here to try and finish the job?!"

<Bobby> "Huh?" was his only response.

<Hope> "Don't play stupid with me, Drake!" She snapped as her temper worsened.

<Bobby> "There isn't any finishing of the job, right? You're always gonna need protecting," he reasoned.

<Hope> Hope blinked at him, confused. She was the job? Protection? Right. Protection. Her breathing slowed as she let her hands drop to her side.

<Bobby> Bobby relaxed, but only minutely. "You okay?"

<Hope> "No." The sofa was closer now, and she sank down onto it. The truth was, she wondered how much of the decision to let Obi live was really Sebastian's idea.

<Bobby> Replaying the conversation in his head, twice, Bobby made a horrified face. The ice dissipated and he slowly moved over and slumped into a chair, staring at her. "Hope... babe, I'm not gonna hurt your boyfriend."

<Hope> "I know... I [i[know[/i]," she pressed her hands over her face, drawing a ragged breath. "He almost died..."

<Bobby> "Saving you," he finished for her. "That means me and him are on the same side."

<Hope> Her hands dropped from her face, one of them reaching out for his. "I'm sorry."

<Bobby> He wriggled over in the seat and took her hand, then just moved onto the sofa beside her. "It's okay... what I meant by that was that Shaw's not, like, the most compassionate guy. Surprised he's... well, adopted the kid."

<Hope> "He basically adopted me... Obi should be a piece of cake," she muttered, sighing a bit.

<Bobby> "So...." He grinned. "You're doing your brother. That's a new one! Who needs Game of Thrones!"

<Hope> Hope swung again, this time more in a playful manner, and aimed for his arm. "Ass!"

<Bobby> Bobby cackled and fell over sideways, thanking his lucky stars that she was acting more normal now.

<Hope> "You're such an ass," she glared at him, throwing a throw pillow at him for good measure.

<Bobby> "Yaaaay, that's me!" He ducked, caught the pillow as it sailed over his head, then cheered with it.

<Hope> "How does Paige put up with you?" Hope asked, exasperated.

<Bobby> "She's a saint." He laughed and sat up slowly, giving her a wary eye for more projectiles.

<Hope> "Clearly." She pulled a blanket up around her, eying the guard a bit. "No more talk of his dying."

<Bobby> He sighed gustily. "I'm going to have to be nice and everything now."

<Hope> "I never said that..." Hope pointed out.

<Bobby> "No, but still... feels like... I should." He squirmed and pretended to loosen his collar. "This conscience thing is a bitch."

<Hope> "He's a good guy. Now." Hope fiddled with the edge of the blanket, watching that instead of him.

<Bobby> "Now," he repeated, shooting a glance at the closed bedroom door again.

<Hope> "Isn't that what matters?" she pointed out, stealing a glance at him. "Nobody we know has a squeaky clean past.... except maybe Paige. I can't see her doing anything wrong."

<Bobby> Bobby laughed. "True enough. Still not sure what you see in him, but yeah, I'll keep an eye on him."

<Hope> She gave him a weak smile and a nod. "Thanks, Bobby."

<Bobby> "Still more worried about you though." He gave her a nudge.

<Hope> Hope swallowed, forcing more of a smile. "You know me. I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

<Bobby> He tried to think back to before, when she was War. Squinting, he assessed her.

<Hope> "I just need him to be okay," she admitted.

<Bobby> "Still more worried about you, babe." He shrugged, smirking.

<Hope> She tried to smile, but ended up playing with the blanket again. "Yeah. Thanks. I guess."

<Bobby> Bobby sighed, turning his attention back to the television. Scooby was over. Dammit.
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