Author's note: sorry for the delay in updates! My muse left me for the Bahamas for a while (well, when I say Bahamas, I mean some Harry Potter, Van Helsing, Hellboy, Star Wars, and Buffy fic ideas... all of which turned out too adult to post on this site), but she's back now. At least long enough for me to write this chapter and flesh out the next. I'm back in college while still working, so I'm not exactly sure when I'll update this again, but I will try. Thanks to everyone who's been reading the story and reviewing it so far! I love to hear feedback of any sort, so don't hesitate to comment. Now then, back to the story.

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Too hot... when did it get so hot in here?

Tabitha whimpered quietly in her sleep, turning over on her pillow in search of a cooler spot to rest her head. After having been cold for so long back at the apartment she'd forgotten what it was like to be too warm. Sweat plastered a few strands of hair to her forehead while sticking the back of her pajama shirt to her skin. Various fever-induced dreams filled her head, though none of them all that coherent.

"Amara... open a window, will ya?"

The sound of Tabby's voice shook Scott from his own slumber. He glanced over at the form of Tabby in the other bed across from him, her covers thrown to one side as she lay sprawled out with one leg hanging off the edge of the mattress. He checked the clock to see that the alarm would be going off in roughly five minutes. After a moment of silent contemplation, Scott switched off the alarm so that it wouldn't wake Tabby up. As silently as possible, he switched his sleeping glasses for his normal ones and gathered up his clothing before heading to the bathroom.

As he closed the door behind him he heard Tabby moan in her sleep again. He wasn't sure whether she was just having nightmares or if she was really sick, though both seemed equally probable after how she'd been living for the last several weeks. Either way, he felt that she deserved a rest. It was a tough decision on his part, as he was never one to condone slacking off, but she really seemed to need a day off.

Tabitha's eyes fluttered as she heard the shower turn on in the bathroom. The room was dimly lit by the single stream of sunlight slipping beneath the curtains drawn over the window. Morning... she had to get to school. Pushing herself into a seated position, Tabby threw out a hand to steady herself as everything began to swim before her eyes. She moved a hand up to rub the sleep away, only to find her head covered in sweat.

Oh, perfect... and Amara's in the bathroom already... she takes so long these days now that I taught her how to use that makeup of hers... damn, what did I do last night? I feel like shit. Oh well, she better make room for me in there. I'm not about to be late and get yelled at by Scott again.

Stumbling to her feet, Tabitha somehow managed to walk across the room to the bathroom door, unbuttoning her shirt as she went. Something looked odd about the room; it didn't quite have the same layout that her and Amara's room usually had, but she was too tired and dizzy to think about it at the moment. Her hand fumbled for the doorknob before managing to twist it the right way and open the door as quietly as possible. A thin cloud of steam greeted her as she stepped into the bathroom, accompanied by the soothing sound of the water from the shower hitting the enclosed glass. The swirling patterns on the glass panes added to the steamy feel in the room, and Tabby could just barely make out a figure somewhere in there. The figure inside hadn't seemed to notice that she'd entered yet.

Shrugging to herself, Tabby leaned over the sink and wiped away some of the condensation from the mirror. Ugh. Her face was flushed, her hair was damp, and she had bags under her eyes. Well, she'd have to make the best of things. Switching on the faucets in the sink, she cupped the water in her hands and splashed it against her face. It felt good against her hot skin, and Tabby paused for a moment with her hands holding the moisture to her cheeks. Sighing, she began to search the sink for some soap, but none seemed to be there. What happened to the little pink shell-shaped one that Amara always had? Maybe she left it in the shower? Shrugging off her pj top, Tabitha prepared herself to fish it out herself.

Behind the glass, Scott's ears perked up. Someone else was moving around in the bathroom. His brow furrowed, wondering for a moment if it was an attacker. He didn't have much time to think, however, as suddenly the glass door of the shower was pulled open and an arm stuck in, flailing a bit as the hands groped around for something.

Oh God...

"It's just me, 'Mara! Just getting the soap, I'll be outta here in a jiff!"

Scott managed a surprise squeak as he stepped away from the hand.

"Oh don't be so shy, 'Mara. Like I haven't totally walked in on you in the shower before. You've got nothing to be ashamed of, girl. Get yourself a bit of confidence, will ya?"

She thinks she's back in Amara's room?

The arm dipped suddenly as another hand appeared on the doorframe. Apparently Tabby had stumbled. A knee appeared at the raised portion of the door, resting on the tub siding as the arm extended further inward, revealing a shoulder, the bottom of some blond hair...

Wait, was that shoulder naked?

"Just pass the soap, will you?"

Soap! Have to get her the soap before...

Scott spun around in the shower, frantically searching for the bar of soap so that he could possibly avoid any embarrassing incidents. In doing so he cleanly clocked his head on the overhanging shower spigot, knocking his head back, his glasses off, and causing him to fall back against the shower wall.

Upon hearing the thud, Tabitha stuck her head completely into the shower, a look of worry on her face.

"Amara! Are you alright gi..."

Silence.

Tabitha's eyes grew wide as her fever-racked mind wrapped itself around the scene in front of her.

Scott. Naked. Slumped inside the shower with a hand over his eyes. And naked. Not Amara, but Scott. Naked. In the shower. Completely. Freaking. Naked.

Everything came crashing back to Tabitha. She'd been in Scott's room because he'd rescued her from the diner last night and they didn't want to wake up Amara. He'd taken care of her. Things had gotten awkward before bed. She slept in his room...

Had the situation been different; had Tabitha carefully planned this accident, then her reaction would have been different. However, this wasn't planned, and now she was staring at Scott. Naked. In the shower.

Turning her head away, she held a hand over her eyes as well. "Oh my God, Scott, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were... I mean, I thought Amara was... I was just going to grab the soap, I didn't mean to... Oh my God..."

Scott groaned in what sounded like pain, but Tabby kept her eyes closed.

"Tabby... my glasses. They... they fell off..."

Shit.

"Uh, hold on Scott... I'll... um..."

Being sure not to fumble around too close to where Scott's body had been resting last she'd checked, Tabitha started feeling around for his glasses, her eyes still closed tightly. She couldn't help but wonder how many times this had happened to Scott. Not the whole walked in on in the shower thing, but the blindly looking around for his glasses thing.

"Tabby? Any... any luck? I can't... I can't find them..."

Damnit...

Taking a deep breath, Tabby turned her head before opening her eyes intent on quickly scanning the area for his glasses and then closing them. Only, her eyes stayed open rather than closing once she spotted the glasses caught on the washcloth rack to the side. She stared at Scott for a long moment. He had one of those long, lean muscled bodies that reminded her of a swimmer's. His hair was slicked back from the shower with only a few strands hanging down over his forehead. His face... this was the most she'd ever seen of his face. Though his eyes were screwed shut while his hands searched for his glasses, Tabby could tell a lot about them. From their shape, she guessed that they were pretty large. There were no bags or wrinkles or any markings at all around them, though the skin was slightly paler than the rest of his face. His eyebrows were fixed in a worried expression, a sort of helpless expression on his face. His mouth was slightly open, teeth gritted together, his chin and jaw set in almost a look of pain as he struggled to push himself up with his arms, keeping his legs still so as not to kick Tabby...

Legs...

There...

Oh God...

It was then that Tabitha realized just what her eyes had fallen on while looking down to his legs, and her cheeks flushed even hotter than before.

"T-tabitha?"

"Right! Got 'em!"

Diving forward, she plucked the ruby quartz glasses from the washcloth rack and dropped them on Scott's chest before ducking out of the shower and turning her back to the still-open door.

Scott felt the glasses fall against his chest and immediately snatched them up and replaced them on his head. Cautiously opening his eyes, he saw the world in slightly water-blurred red once again as he pushed himself back to his feet.

"Tabitha?"

She wasn't anywhere near the shower anymore. As awkward as the whole experience had been, she'd have had to been fairly sick to forget where she was. Worries for her health quickly replaced his distress over his compromised modesty.

"Tabitha, are you alright?"

A small reply filtered through the steam and sound of running water, one that Scott couldn't quite make out. Her voice sounded weak, and he quickly turned off the water in the shower so as not to increase the heat in the room any more.

"What was that?"

"I... I said that..."

Thud. Crash. Clatter.

It was Scott's turn to shove his head out of the shower in concern this time. There on the floor was Tabby, her face flushed red from a combination of fever and stress, a broken towel rack by her side. She must have tried to hold onto it for support and slipped and bumped her head...

Scott's instinct to protect finally pushed aside any thoughts of what had just transpired between the two of them. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around his waist quickly before bending over to pick up the crumpled body of Tabitha in a fireman's carry. With a bit of struggling, Scott managed to get her head to rest against his chest rather than fall limply back over one of his arms, the other still holding her legs up. He barely even registered that she was currently topless as he kicked the bathroom door fully open and carried Tabitha back into the bedroom.

Stepping over her overnight bag, Scott made his way to Tabitha's bed, cradling her body to him as-

As the door to the room opened to reveal the one and only Jean Grey standing there.

"Scott, is everything alright? You were late for breakfast so I..."

Silence.

Tabitha stirred in Scott's arms.

"Scott? What..."

Wide eyes all around as the group stared in shock at one another. Jean pieced this scene together in a state of stunned horror. Scott, naked save for a towel around his waist, was carrying a shirtless Tabitha who looked relatively out of it as she rested against him where he held her... over a well-used bed.

More silence.

"J-Jean... I can explain..."

Scott was cut off as the door was slammed shut, more out of shock on Jean's side than anger. Feeling suddenly weak himself, Scott set Tabitha down on the bed, pulling a blanket up to cover her exposed upper body.

Once again, the two shared a single thought at the same moment.

Oh shit.