"You ready to go kid?" Happy asks, grabbing Toby's hat and jacket from his desk for him then glancing over at Sage laying her head down on the dark wood.
"Yep," she sighed, jumping up from the chair and stretching out her back for a quick second before walking over to the couch to grab her backpack and hoodie that she had discarded not too long ago. She shoved her notebook and dull pencil inside and following Happy out of the garage.
Toby was waiting patiently in the passenger seat of his car as he waited for both Happy and Sage. He looked proudly up at them with a grin as they approached the beat to crap vehicle.
"I fixed it all by myself guys."
Sage eyed the car with an unsure expression and raised her eyebrows.
"I think it may need a bit more work," she purses her lips and nods her head.
Happy laughs so hard she almost missed when she threw Toby's things at him through the window. When she calmed down a bit she climbed into the drivers side and adjusted the seat so she could actually reach the pedals without a big struggle. Sage climbed into the very back, as Happy situated herself in the driver's seat, next to a pouting Toby. 'He seems to do that a lot' Sage thinks as he moved the things Happy threw at him away from his face and laying them down so they rested neatly in his lap. The two of them discussed the day's events with the radio playing softly in the background as they drove to their apartment whlie Sage just stared out the window. There was still a little light shining throught the bunch of evening clouds resting at the horizon, the tinged glow iluminating the side of her face and the few strands of blonde hair that had fallen in her eyes. The street lights were just beginning to flicker on as the sun got closer and closer to dissapearing behind the ocean of massive buildings. She's never seen a real sunset before, but that was definitely on her list of things to do when she got the opportunity to get out of the hell-hole that everyoone reffered to as Los Angeles. She just needed a little time to come up with a suitable escape plan to get her the heck away from this place, because if she didn't Team Scorpion was sure to find her again, and she was going to do everythig in her ability to prevent that from happening.
Not long into the drive she eventually fell asleep from all the commotion she had experienced that day, with her cheek resting against her hand. She wakes up to Toby shaking her shoulder gently, standing over her with a kind smile. She groaned and opened her eyes with an annoyed frown.
"Hey sleepy head, we're here," he says, helping her out of the car, "let's get you all ready for bed."
Happy had taken all their stuff up to the apartment, while Toby took care of waking up the young girl in their backseat. Sage woke herself the rest of the way up and followed Toby to the stairs that led to the place she would be staying for the night, or maybe the next few nights depending on how long it took her to devise a plan to ditch them.
Happy was already inside tidying a few things up that were still strewn around from their morning rush. There were several boxes scattered around the small apartment, along with papers, tools, and books. There really should have been more bookcases with the amount of books stacked in the corners.
"Would you like to shower in the morning or tonight?" Toby asks, locking the front door behind him.
"Uh, tonight if that's okay," she says, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned.
"Alrighty then."
He leads her to the master bedroom, which was just as messy as the rest of the house, maybe more so with the boxes of clothes strewn about.
"Hey Hap? Do you have any sweatpants that would fit Sage?" he called, digging through the dresser drawer as he searched for anything that might fit her small frame, making an even bigger mess in the process.
"Uhm, yeah, in one of the boxes," she yells from the living room.
"Well that doesn't really help," he yells back, looking through the several boxes in the room, but with no such luck.
"Sorry, we haven't really found a lot of time to unpack Happy's things" Toby apologizes, giving up on the boxes with with an exasperated sigh.
"I can just wear this outfit to bed," she said, pulling at the shirt she was wearing, but Toby shakes his head in disagreement.
"No, we need to wash that so you can wear it to school tomorrow," he says, moving back to the drawer to search a while longer.
Eventually he finds something that would somewhat fit her. An old one of his t-shirts, and a pair of black shorts Happy never wore anymore. He hands them over to her and leads her to the bathroom. He showed her the different shampoos and how to turn on the shower, and how to switch it from hot to cold. She could have probably figured it out on her own, but she appreciated his efforts. He pulled out a towel from the cabinet and placed it on the counter beside the sink.
"Can you think of anything else you might need?" He asks, reaching for the doorknob.
She shook her head. So he exited the room and closed the door behind him, allowing her the privacy to take a shower. He made his way back into the kitchen/living room where Happy was unpacking another box on the counter, determining where the dishes inside should go.
"Hey honey bear," Toby whispers in her ear, as he wraps his arms around her waist from behind. Burying his face into the crevice of her neck and kissing it gently, and ghosting his fingertips along her sides.
"Toby," she whines, "this is exactly why we haven't finished unpacking my things."
Toby grumbles to himself and releases her from his hold, throwing himself onto the couch and watching her as she sits criss cross on the ground in front of another box. He started getting bored, which wasn't a big surprise, and he looked around the small apartment for something interesting to occupy himself. He sees something pink poking out from one of the boxes Happy had brought from her place, lying on the kitchen table. Happy hated the color pink, so he got up to investigate stepping around a concentrated Happy, sitting on the floor. He walks over to the box and pulls out a pink, frilly notebook with the letters 'Diary' written across the front. His eyes widen in surprise and he glances over at Happy.
"Ooh, what do we have here?" He chuckles playfully, turning around to face Happy, while flipping the book open to a random page. Happy looks behind her and sees Toby with the book and a smug smile on his face. Once she realized what it was she stood and rushed toward him in panic.
"Give it to me Toby," she demands, holding out her hand for the journal.
"You know, that wasn't very well hidden, and it was laying in plain sight. Any experienced psychiatrist would say that you either were intentionally placing it out in hopes someone would pick it up, or you're just plain careless. I don't th-" Happy cuts him off with a growl.
"Give it back to me Tobias," she warns, narrowing her eyes at him.
Toby ignored her and he begins reading the contents aloud with a sad impression of of a teenage girl.
"Dear Diary, today som-" he doesn't get very far at all before Happy punches him in the stomach and reaches for the book in his hand.
Even while he was doubled leaned over clutching his stomach, he was able to keep it out of her reach by holding it high above his head. He ran away from her and towards the couch. Waving the book at her like a toy which only aggravated her even more.
"Toby give that to me right now," she yells. He hears the seriousness in her tone, but he can also see the playfulness in her eyes as she desperately reaches for the book.
"What are the magic words?" he says in a sing-songy voice.
"Just give me the stupid book," she yells again as she continues to get more upset, as she chases him back into the kitchen. She grabs him, latching herself around his waist in an attempt to tackle him
But instead, Toby stops and throws the book away from him, while Happy tightens her hold on him. When she sees the new location of the book she jumps away and scrambles towards it. She gets so close, but Toby pulls on her arm, slowing her down and pulling her back, allowing him to grab it first.
The chase begins once again, and only stops when they finally notice Sage standing there. Wet hair, towel in hand, and just completely gawking at them. Two full grown adults wrestling and fighting over a frilly pink book. At the time, Happy had Toby pinned to the ground, holding his hands above his head to immobilize him while straddling his waist. When she looked up and saw Sage, through her messy hair, she grabbed the book from Toby and stands up while Toby just grins like an idiot from the floor.
"Don't let him near any of your personal things," she warns Sage as she walks by, blowing her hair out of her face.
"I wouldn't do that to Sage, I just met her" Toby pouts, rolling onto his stomach so he could pick himself up off the floor while Happy disappears into the bedroom to get ready for her shower.
"So, where do I put my dirty clothes?" Sage asks, nervously as he stretches his back.
"I'll take them down to the laundromat later tonight," he says, taking her clothes and towel then tossing them into a basket by the door. Filled with other dirty clothes belonging to both Happy and Toby. He opens a closet and pulls out several blankets, laying them down on the couch to make a comfortable bed.
"It's only like," he checks his watch, "8:00. So you can watch TV if you want, or just go to sleep, it doesn't matter."
She nods and burrows herself under the blankets before reaching for the remote on the coffee table.
"If Happy comes out, wondering where I am tell her I went to wash our clothes," he says, picking up the basket and heading out the door.
After he's gone, Sage gets comfortable and decides on a crime show that looked kind of interesting and not totally pathetic. She feels warm and safe with the blankets wrapped securely around her shoulder, and the sense of security received from having a place to stay for the night. It had been far too long since she had a stable place to eat and sleep. Usually she would sneak into whatever foster home Colby was in and take advantage of the free showers and air conditioned rooms until she was kicked out by his foster parents.
Her gut was telling her that now was the perfect time to make a run for it, leave and never look back. She's sure Colby would understand her hastened escape, unlike any of the other geniuses she had just met that day. Toby was gone, Happy was in the shower, for all she knew this could be a test of loyalty on the shrink's part, he was smarter than he was often given credit for. If she did get caught then there was the chance of being turned over the the police, which would in turn lead her to being stuck in the lousy foster system she's heard so much about. Yet if it wasn't a trap she could be to the next state before they ever realized she was gone. The only problem was there was no way she was getting herself off this couch, she needed sleep. The events of the past few hours proved that. Maybe a better opportunity will show itself when she's a bit more rested and ready.
She's so tired that she barely noticed that Happy was out of the shower and was watching the show with her, sitting at the foot of the couch. That definitely blew any plan she had for that night. They both relax on the couch until Toby gets back with the laundry and he stumbles into the apartment an hour and a half later, basket in hand.
He sees the two sitting on the couch, watching the TV while half asleep, trying their hardest to stay awake till the case is solved. He sets down the basket by the door and grabs the remote, turning off the TV.
"It's time to go to bed now," he told both of them.
Happy groaned, standing up and using Toby's arm to steady herself so she doesn't fall back onto the couch. Sage just collapses on top of her pillow and falls asleep. Toby fixes her blankets so they're tucked tightly around her shoulders and wishing her a quick 'goodnight' and shutting off all the lights except a lamp in the corner.
Afterwards, he meets Happy in their bedroom. She's already sprawled out across the bed, wearing one of his old t-shirts and boxers she still hadn't returned. He climbs in bed, and maneuvers Happy's body so she isn't taking up every inch of his sleeping space, and so she's pressed up comfortably against his chest.
"Night Hap" he whispers into her ear, kissing the back of her neck.
"Night" she whispered, before falling asleep.
-
At 5:00 Toby was woken up by Sage shaking his shoulder and whispering his name.
"Toby, Toby, wake up. Someone's knocking on the door, and they won't go away. I'm scared it might be those guys from earlier," she whispered.
Toby groaned and rolled over so he could sit up on the bed. He just needed a few seconds to wake himself up a bit, before he can start fully comprehending the situation. In the background the faint sound of pounding reached his ears and he glanced over at Sage while digging the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"It's probably not those jerks. They would have broken in already, but who knows… they might be idiots too," he yawns, stretching his arms. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and glanced behind him to make sure Happy was still sound asleep before he stood up. She was passed out on her pillow with her tangled hair covering half her face.
Sage followed closely behind him as he walked towards the front door, peeking out from behind him temporarily when they passed by the kitchen. The banging became louder and more obnoxious the closer they got. He grabbed the wooden bat Happy insisted keeping by the door and crept up closer to the door, while Sage was pressed up close to his back as she attempted to get a good view of who was on the other side when he swung open the door. It was only Cabe, he wasn't wearing his usual suit, instead he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and sweatpants, looking irritated and exhausted, much like Toby was.
"What the heck are you doing here at 5:00 in the morning in your pajamas?" Toby asks, lowering the bat, and squinting from all the bright hall light streaming into his apartment.
"It's protocol that I check up on Sage every 12 hours. So since I left the garage at 5 yesterday, I had to see her, and make sure she hadn't run off yet this morning," Cabe explained adding on a yawn to the end.
Sage poked her head out from behind Toby after hearing her name. She stepped a couple feet away from the door and towards her makeshift bed when she realized there was nothing to worry about, ready to go back to sleep if she could.
"And now i can go back to sleep," he sighed, turning around to walk back down the hallway and back to his SUV parked outside.
"You take your job way too seriously," Toby called after him, closing the door and locking it back, then putting the bat back where it was. Sage crawled back onto the couch when Toby went into the bedroom to go back to sleep, grumbling about sleep deprivation and the 'stupid government'.
She couldn't fall asleep, there was too much nonsense running through her mind, there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep and wake up on time for school. So she grabbed her backpack then pulled out her sketchbook and started on another drawing. She had already made up her mind last night that she wasn't going to attempt at running away again, it only made sense. So she decided to stay put… for now.
An hour had gone by without her even noticing. She only realized the time when she saw Happy waddle her way into the kitchen in one of Toby's old Harvard shirts, similar to the one she was wearing. Pots and pans could be heard across the teeny apartment, clinking and clattering together as Happy pulled them out of their designated cabinets.
Sage was already sore from being hunched over her book for so long, so she got up and stretched her back before going over to see what Happy was up to so early in the morning. She sat at one of the tall chairs positioned behind the peninsula, facing the main part of the kitchen.
Happy looked up to see Sage watching her and she gave her a small smile before going back to cooking breakfast.
"So what are you cooking?" Sage asked, propping her head up on her hands as she watched Happy open the fridge and rummage around.
"Scrambled eggs and bacon," she answered, pulling out several eggs from the carton in the fridge, and cracking them into a red bowl beside the stove.
"Is that your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?" She asked curiously.
"I like the bacon, and Toby likes the eggs. He claims 'it has just the right amount of protein and fat to start the day off right,'" Happy answers in a mocking tone, "so when I make one I make the other," She finishes, cracking the last of the eggs and mixing the milk and eggs together.
Sage watched as Happy cooked their breakfast with ease as they held a really fun conversation. Sage learned a lot about cars and other machines, while Happy listened to some of Sage's interesting theories she came up with when she was bored. They talked until breakfast was ready and then Happy had to attempt to wake Toby up. He stumbled into the kitchen in record time then took a big sniff and grinned like an idiot.
"Mm, I get my favorite this morning" Toby said, smiling. He pressed a kiss to the side of Happy's head as he passed the kitchen and sat down on the couch as she put the finishing touches to his plate of breakfast. She brought him his plate and sat down next to him, followed by Sage who had a plateful of both bacon and eggs.
The three of them ate in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed their meals. Toby was usually the one who did the talking, but he was too preoccupied with the deliciousness on his plate.
Happy turned on the TV and they watched the news. Every once in awhile Toby would make a comment about one of the arrests or crime that's happened recently, and ranting about how idiotic some people are becoming, and he wasn't entirely wrong.
An hour later, all the plates were stacked on the coffee table and everyone was relaxing on the couch watching a random cartoon Toby seemed to find hilarious. Eventually Happy glanced over at the clock in the kitchen, it was almost 7:30.
"Crap! We're late!" she shouts, jumping off the couch and running to the bedroom.
Toby, startled, looked over at the clock too, then he jumped off the couch in panic. Sage yelled out to him before he disappeared into the bedroom.
"Hey! Where are my clothes?"
"In the hamper," he yelled back, slamming the door behind him and leaving Sage alone in the living room. She found her clothes, and was dressed in under two minutes. Her night clothes neatly folded on the arm of the couch.
A minute later Happy stumbled out of the bedroom, hopping on one foot to put on her last boot, followed closely by Toby. His hat was lopsided on his head, his shoes were untied. And his shirt was halfway unbuttoned as he finished buckling his belt.
"Okay, let's go," he said, grabbing his messenger bag and opening the front door for the two of them.
Sage grabbed her backpack and Happy grabbed her bag and they all sprinted down the stairs to the car. Toby tripped a few times because of his untied shoes, but they were able to make it without any serious injuries. At red lights Toby fixed his shirt and shoes. Happy put on the little bit of makeup she wore everyday. She hated it, but sometimes it was necessary. Sage was brushing her long hair in the backseat in an attempt to tame the wild bird's nest at the top of her head. So when they arrived at the garage in perfect timing, they looked perfectly normal.
"Does that happen everyday?" Sage asked, exiting the car, somewhat out of breath from the excitement that had occured that morning.
"Every once in awhile," Happy says, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
Sage shrugged and shuffled into the garage after her. Everyone was there except Paige and Ralph, they arrived a couple minutes later.
"Hey guys. How did things go last night?" Paige asked as she walked in with Ralph in tow.
"Great," Toby nods, sipping on his coffee at his desk and grinning in her direction.
Sage was sitting on the couch, hunched over the drawing she had started that morning. She looked up when she heard Paige's voice after she entered the garage. She saw Ralph and stood up, walking over to him. Ralph's eyes widened in recognition, then he smiled happily in her direction.
"Well you seem a lot happier than you used to be Ralph," Sage laughs, reaching up to ruffle his hair.
"Ralph? You know Sage?" Paige asked in surprise, glancing between the two. Ralph nodded and smiled up at his mom.
"She was my only friend at school, along with her other friend Colby, they sort of protected me from a lot of the bullies. We were good friends all the way until she had to leave for middle school two years ago," Ralph answered, smiling again at Sage, "even though she is only one year older."
"Wow, it talks now too… a lot," she joked.
Ralph just smiled brighter and gave her a hug, wrapping his arms over her shoulders. Both of them were stiff and awkward during the hug, but they hadn't seen each other in a long time so it was only appropriate. Ralph pulled away first.
"Well this is a different type of irony," Sage mumbled to herself.
"You didn't talk that much either two years ago," Ralph said, "you were always so angry."
"Yep, well lots of things have changed since then. Plus I was just going through some stuff then and I really didn't feel like socializing with anyone," Sage said, rubbing the back of her neck. A nervous tick; she hated it so much.
"What are you doing at the garage?" Ralph questioned, looking around at each of the adults suspiciously before returning his gaze over to her.
"Maybe she can explain on the way to school, because if we don't leave now we are going to be late. Toby do you think you can drop off Ralph? I've got a lot of paperwork to do," Paige asked, looking over at the shrink playing with his hat at his desk.
Toby sighed and stood up, grabbing his jacket and making his way to the door.
"Come on children," Toby called, making both Sage and Ralph laugh.
Sage explained the whole story on the ride to her school. It was closer than Ralph's elementary school. She finished her explanation a couple minutes before they reached her school. When they pulled into the drop off zone, kids swarmed around the car after getting a glance of her in the passenger's seat.
"Well someone's popular," Toby joked, looking around at the group of kids.
"Ha ha, funny," Sage snapped sarcastically, then opening the car door. Ready for the questions that were sure to come flying at her at any moment now.
They all cleared away eventually, leaving Colby standing by Sage. He saw Ralph in the car and smiled over at him.
"Hey bud, what's up?" he asked, leaning over to give him a high five.
"Not much. It's nice to see you Colby," Ralph said, smiling in return.
Sage and Colby were about to walk into the school. Then they heard Toby yell from the car.
"Me or Paige will pick you up after school, no funny business," he yelled, pointing a stern finger in her direction and eyeing her.
She laughed and called back sarcastically, "I wouldn't dream of it".
"Alright, spill," Colby insisted, walking the hallways with Sage.
"Well somebody's nosy," she snapped, playfully
