A/N: As requested by ColonelBriteis, Scott's dating disasters referenced in 'And if you need to, use words'

Eros, Philios, Pragma and Storge

"Hi Dad."

"Hello Scott." Jeff smiled, then his eldest's heartbroken expression registered over the house holo-phone. "It happened again?" Jeff asked, concern creasing his brow.

"Yeah." Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be home tonight. At least she didn't run off with my credit card this time?" He attempted to joke, but it fell very flat.

"I'll make sure your bed's made. Virgil's at a party, but Gordon and Alan are home."

"Thanks."

Jeff sighed as Scott hung up, feeling so bad for his eldest son. It seemed he just didn't have a shred of luck when it came to love. He'd been on the odd date in high school but no one had clicked until he met Jennifer shortly after starting college. Scott had quickly fallen head over heels for the fine arts major in a matter of days… until she helped herself to his 'emergencies only' credit card just before Scott left for a weekend visit home and gone on a shopping spree.

Jeff had been there when the unusual spending alerts had pinged up on Scott's mobile, quickly tallying up to several hundred dollars worth of purchases. Scott had straight away called the credit card company on the house phone to report his card had been stolen and while he was talking to the representative, she had delicately suggested that before cancelling the card, he should ask his girlfriend if she'd seen it. Scott had called Jennifer immediately on his mobile and she'd happily answered that she had it, 'but it's okay, right sweetie? You're loaded and I deserve a treat.'

'No Jennifer, it's not.' Scott had told her, and Jeff had heard the heartbreak in his voice. 'I didn't give you permission to use my card or spend my money. Return the stuff and the card and I won't go to the police. We're over.'

There'd been a startled pause and Jennifer had exclaimed 'You wouldn't!'

'I just did. You stole my card, Jennifer.' He'd told her with remarkable evenness in his tone.

'I'll...I'll tell them you hit me!' She'd blurted. 'I will, I'll tell the Dean and everything! Let me keep the stuff or I'll tell them that!'

'Jennifer, I have you on speakerphone with my dad and the credit card company, and all their calls are recorded.' Scott had told her bluntly. 'You have one hour to return everything. If you don't, I'm going to the police with the statements and the recording of you trying to blackmail me. Understand?'

She'd screamed down the phone and hung up on him. The credit card rep had been extremely professional about it all and promised to email him the call recording and updates as they came in. Jeff had been both very proud of the man his son was becoming and felt so hurt and angry on his behalf for having to learn such a hard lesson. When Scott chose to trust someone, he trusted them wholeheartedly. To have his trust treated so lightly and carelessly was a bone-deep wound for his eldest.

Toni had been next, a computer science major. Jeff had liked her immediately when she'd dropped by Scott's room while he and Scott were chatting and introduced herself- smart, quick as a whip and a wicked sense of humour, she'd been the perfect foil to Scott's cheekiness until he found her in bed with the captain of the college baseball team the next day.

There'd been a few blind dates set up by friends of his that had ranged from 'no spark' to 'forest of red flags', but the last time he and Jeff spoke, Scott had been cautiously optimistic about his latest girlfriend. Rebecca was a marketing student, creative, bright and bubbly, that he'd met at a college event. They'd been taking it slow, chatting at events and parties held by mutual friends and slowly getting to know each other. After being burned so many times, Scott was being cautious.

Evidently something has happened that justified his caution.

A couple of hours later, Jeff heard the light plane that Scott used for his weekend trips home roar overhead and land on the airstrip behind the house. Not long after that the front door opened and Scott stumped into the foyer, toed off his shoes and made his way into the lounge. He tossed his overnight bag into a corner and dropped into the nearest couch with a groan.

"What happened?" Jeff asked as he sat down next to Scott and put a beer into his hand.

"I caught her in my room this morning. I forgot some notes for a group project and had to come back." Scott explained, his expression hovering between heartbreak and anger. "We were going to go on a date tomorrow night, our first proper date, you know? Nothing big, just dinner and a movie." He took a sip of the beer. "She was poking holes in my condoms."

"Ah hell." Jeff sighed and tugged him into a side hug that Scott leaned into, clearly hurting from this latest betrayal of his trust. "I'm sorry you're having all this happen to you."

"I think I'm going to give dating a rest." Scott glumly concluded. "I want a love like what you and Mom had, but at this rate I don't think I'll find it at college."

"You'll find it one day, son." Jeff tried to encourage him. "There's someone out there for you, I know there is. But I think you're right about dating in college. Give it a break for a while and just focus on your studies and making friends."

"Yeah." Was the half-hearted answer as Scott nodded absently and took another sip of beer. "Dad?" He asked, craning his neck to look at Jeff.

"Yes?"

"How'd you and Mom meet?"

Jeff smiled fondly at the memory. "I made a complete fool of myself, that's how." He explained, gesturing with his free hand as he spoke. "Senior year of high school, I was on my way through the art block after dropping off a project to be graded. I was walking past one of the music rooms when I heard this beautiful singing. I was so busy looking for where it was coming from I didn't watch where I was putting my feet, tripped over nothing and went face first into a door frame. Next thing I know, this absolute angel of a girl is helping me up, giving me a tissue to hold onto the gash I'd put into my head and calling for a teacher. I tracked her down a couple of days later to thank her, she invited me out to get ice cream and I was in love by the end of the week." He shook his head and laughed. "Her dad actually did the 'sit on the porch with a shotgun' routine the first time I came to pick her up for a date. You know what she did?"

"No, what?" Scott asked curiously, he hadn't heard this story before.

"Marched out the front door, went straight up to him, winked at me, turned to him and said 'if you threaten him, how am I supposed to tell what he's actually like? I'll let you know if you need to shoot him, but I think I can take care of it myself if I have to'." Jeff grinned broadly at the memory. "I think I would have walked barefoot on broken glass for her at that moment."

Jeff sobered. "We had something rare, she and I. A lotta astronaut marriages don't make it, not unless they really work for it. You spend too much time apart, you get used to it, and you forget how to do life with a partner. Your mom and I realised that early on, we made sure we put the effort in and continued to put the effort in…" He trailed off, staring at the collection of family photos on the far wall of the lounge.

"You miss her, don't you Dad?" Scott asked quietly, sensing the change in mood.

"Every day, son. Every day." Was the reply, just as quiet, in a voice thick with emotion. "She was my one in a trillion. She made me so happy. And then one day she put you in my arms and suddenly I wasn't just a husband, I was a dad." Jeff smiled again, shaking his head slightly. "I had no idea I could be heart-full-to-bursting happy and damned near wet myself terrified all at the same time. I mean, me, she gave me, some crazy astronaut guy, a little baby boy. She knew exactly how nuts I am and she trusted me with you." He looked down at Scott. "You know how little you were? And you were the biggest one! When she gave me John for the first time I was sure I'd seen kittens bigger than him."

Scott chuckled at that, just as Jeff had hoped.

"C'mon, you finish that while I get the grill going." Jeff nudged Scott and pointed at his beer. "The other two will be home soon and I've got fresh corn on the cob and two chickens in the fridge. You and me can put together a feast and hopefully we'll get some of it before Gordon mows through the lot. I swear that kid's become half piranha or something, he's gotta be hitting another growth spurt."

That got him a laugh from his eldest. "Gotcha, Dad." Scott grinned up at him. "And Dad? Thanks."

"Any time son." Jeff smiled back as he got up. "Any time."