AN: Hello friends! Thank you so much to those of you who are here and even bigger thank you for the comments and support. I am posting primarily on A03 right now so this cite gets updated a little slower. Sorry about that. I will try to do better in the future for that one. As some of you might have noticed, my A03 account went dark, that is because I had to go private due to an increase with Bots and AI scrapping well read stories on the cite (ie. stealing, pretending they are their own and getting the actual story shut down), going private has lessened this for people and they are working to find a work around for this one. Until then, the account will be private and you will need an A03 account to read the stories there. Alternatively, I'll be trying to shift my works from there over here for you, but I am unsure how long that will take. Fanfic has a more tedious system than A03 so it's taking a bit. All that to say, I'm sorry for the hassle, hope you're all doing well and will do my best to keep my work available on one platform or another for your enjoyment. Take care!
"Hey!"
"How's it goin, pipsqueak?" Metal greeted as he came through the door, eyeing the girl in the kitchen.
"Good!"
Jess was practically buzzing with nervous energy and he could feel the way she was watching him, as if trying to guess what sort of mood he was in and bursting at the seams, waiting to say something.
"What's got you all wound up?" He asked almost warily as he tossed his bag in the closet.
"Umm…well," Jess started to pace. "I potentially did a dumb thing, but also super exciting and like a once in a lifetime thing that I never dreamed I would get the chance for."
"Oh?"
"Remember that research trip thing?"
Frowning as he tried to translate and searching his brain for any knowledge about a 'research trip thing', Metal came up empty.
"No."
"I didn't mention the research trip that they were doing selection for?" Jess stopped pacing and stared at him, clearly puzzled. "I could have sworn I told you about…oh…oh, no, my bad. I told Pauline and Zoe and meant to tell you that night but I'd been drinking and told you with my inside voice not my outside voice- I could have sworn I told you though, are you sure I didn't say anything about it?"
"You definitely did not mention anything about a trip."
"Ok, well, I put my name in for this thing and I actually got offered a spot on a research team that goes on a ten day trip to collect plant samples and stuff at the end of term!"
Ignoring the way his chest constricted with an instantaneous bad feeling, he allowed a small smile and said, "That's awesome! Congratulations!"
Pure happiness flooded Jess's face with a humble flush and she said, "Thanks! I didn't think I would even be considered!"
"You work hard, Jess. I'm sure your teachers see it. So, where is this trip?" Metal asked carefully as he headed for the fridge. Her answer would dictate if he grabbed water or beer.
"Ahhh…well. The Amazon Rainforest."
Pausing to swear internally, Metal opened the fridge and grabbed two beers. This was a two beer problem. He knew she didn't forget to tell him on purpose, she was just scattered as shit, and it was her life to live anyway, but he would have liked more time to at least try to talk her out of this before she got accepted to the team.
"What part and what country are you heading into?" He asked, trying not to growl darkly.
"Brazil, I think. But, sometimes they work in conjunction with research teams from Peru and we go in from there. Details are up in the air. It should be settled at the end of the week."
"Brazil and Peru are exceptionally large and different, Jess. What other details do you have?"
"Well, I can't pronounce the place we are probably starting from…I think it started with an 'S' or 'C'?"
Metal turned and gave her a long stare, purposely freezing the line of words he wanted to say out loud and wondering how on earth the girl survived so long on her own.
Fidgeting, Jess chewed her lower lip and mumbled, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You can remember all those ridiculously long scientific names for plants but you can't remember the name of a city?!" Metal asked plainly.
"Plants make sense!" Jess offered lamely, looking a little embarrassed. "And I was only kind of listening when they were talking about it in class because I was doing another project and also didn't really think I would get in. All I heard was 'Amazon','research trip' and where candidates could sign up, and I absolutely did pay attention to the slide show on the really cool shit they found last year! Did you know that they found this one plant that-"
"Focus Jess."
"Right. So anyway, there's a trip. I put my name in. I got accepted and now I have to decide if I should go."
"You really are something else." Metal grumbled, shaking his head and opening a beer. "Do you at least know if they have a security program in place? How often do they do this trip? How much is it going to cost you? Is your passport up to date?"
Chewing her lip harder, Jess started playing with her hands and said, "I can give you the info pack if you want! I keep trying to read it and getting overwhelmed and then nothing goes in my brain and then I realize I just stared at a page for ten minutes without reading it."
"That would be good," Metal took his beers and a plate of leftovers to the couch. He flicked on sports, taking a drink. If this kept up he was going to need whiskey too.
"You'll read it for me?" Jess asked hopefully, still rooted to the floor.
"Yeah! I just said that," He growled, mind already running through nightmare scenarios and screaming that he didn't like this and she wasn't going.
The tone was enough that Jess faltered, picking up on his shift of mood instantly. Even without turning around he caught the way her energy levels changed.
"I mean…I…I can also figure it out myself. You've already had a long day and stuff."
Setting the first beer down, already half gone, Metal suppressed a sigh and shot her a look.
"Jess? Go get the information package. We are good."
He could see the internal struggle play out over her face as she fought to accept what he said at face value and not what she imagined was going on under the surface.
Finally she nodded and disappeared in the direction of her room, murmuring, "Right. Ok."
It took a few minutes for her to come back. Whether it was because she was having a mini meltdown over thinking he was angry with her when he wasn't or because she couldn't find the package right away, he couldn't say. Maybe it was both and he didn't have the energy to worry about it.
"Here it is," Jess came back and held it out to him while perching on the arm of the couch, leaving lots of space between them instead of crowding his bubble the way she did sometimes when he'd been gone for a few days.
"Ok. Leave this with me. I want time to read it properly and double check some things."
"I can pay for the trip, especially if I take a few extra shifts at work," Jess told him quietly, studying the patterns on one of the throw pillows she'd added to the mix. "And I think my passport is still good. I just have to double check it."
Biting back all the things he wanted to be able to say, Metal nodded.
Jess was no dummy. She read his silence and the people pleaser in her started to come out more.
"I…I don't have to go-"
Lifting his scowl from the introductory page he was skimming through, Metal stated bluntly, "Jess, this is not my decision. I can advise you, if that's what you want, but this is not my call."
"I…I don't want you to be mad at me or disappointed if I decide to go…because I really want to go."
"Oh, I already know you really want to go, kid." Metal grumbled, taking another drink of beer. "You gotta stop worrying so much about what I think."
"Yeah, but…your good opinion means a lot to me," said Jess hesitantly.
"Jess, you always have my good opinion…unless you start dating a frogman, then we're gonna have a talk."
"What's wrong with frogmen? You're a frogman!"
"I know, that's why you're gonna stay away from them. They are not the kind of person you want to date, pipsqueak. Trust me, just steer clear of them and you won't get your heart broken."
"You don't get to tell me who I can date," Jess huffed, though a small smile twitched around her mouth now and humor chased away the deep worry in her eyes.
Metal smirked and nodded, "Good girl. You're right, I don't. Just trust me when I say you don't want to date a frogman."
"I'll keep your concerns in mind. I'm not really interested in dating one anyway. Bunch of weirdos."
"Good."
"Scott, if you think I'm being dumb for going on the trip-"
"I will always tell you if I think you're making a dumb decision, Jess, but I'll also support you any way I can regardless of your choices and my personal opinions. At the end of the day you gotta do what you think is right, not what you think other people want you to do."
Slowly, Jess slipped down the side of the couch next to him and tucked her feet under her, wrapping her arms around her knees. They were shoulder to shoulder now. Well, more like shoulder to lower bicep. He really did dwarf her for size, making it that much harder not to instinctively want to protect her from everything that could hurt her.
"If…if you think it's a bad idea, then I won't go," Jess told him quietly.
Metal hated that it was exactly what he wanted to hear, even after his little speech about supporting her and it being her decision.
Keeping a poker face, Metal shrugged and tapped the package on the table.
"Let me read this over and make a few calls to some friends. I can't say I'm thrilled with the idea of you going to the Amazon, but if it all checks out…you're probably fairly safe going."
"Ok," Jess flopped her head sideways into his shoulder by way of an armless hug and he didn't mind. Sometimes he wondered who needed the contact more; her or him.
There were very few people he allowed into his space the way he let Jess, but the kid was one of a kind and managed to get away with all kinds of shit no one else could.
Speaking of which.
He glanced down at her and frowned, just fully realizing she was wearing one of his hoodies. It was way too big for her and her arms were hidden in the sleeves right now.
"Unbelievable," he muttered ruefully as he grabbed his food and settled comfortably, moving sure he didn't dislodge Jess too much from leaning against him.
"What?"
Jess's head came up and worry filled her tone again, indicating she was having an overly sensitive day.
"You're stealing my sweaters now?" He growled without malice.
Mouth dropping open, Jess's eyes went wide with guilt and she looked down at the oversized hoodie with flushed cheeks.
"Oh. Right. Ahhh…well...you see…I was cold, and it was on the back of the couch and I didn't want to interrupt my brain focus by going and finding one of mine in my room and then it was warm and cozy and…I didn't take it off, I can take it off now, do you want it back? I'll just-"
"Jess? Teasing. Wear the damn sweater if you want to. I don't care."
"Really?" Jess paused part way through pulling the sweater over her head.
"Yeah," Metal cast a side look at her. "You good?"
"I'm really emotional today," Jess admitted as she drew the hoodie back on properly.
"Oh good. I think I'll go back to work."
When Jess didn't answer and she drew a long, shaky breath instead, Metal tore his gaze from the game again and nearly groaned when he saw moisture around the corners of her eyes.
"Really? We're here?" He said gruffly.
"Uh huh," Jess sniffed, blinking hard and trying not to break down. "I'm sorry."
"Damn it. And now she's breaking out the 'sorry's'. I think I need another beer."
"I don't know what's wrong with me!" Jess wrapped her arms around herself and bit both lips hard to keep them from trembling with emotion.
"Did something happen at school?"
"No."
"Work?"
"I got yelled at by a stupid customer because I told him our policy states that his dog needs to be vaccinated before coming to the daycare."
"Ok. What else?"
"All my co-workers were being bitchy with each other."
"Sounds fun. What else?"
"I…I don't know. I'm just all over the place."
"Here's the question I should have opened with; when's the last time you ate and how much coffee have you had today?"
"Oh." Jess dropped her forehead into her knees. "That. I'm an idiot. I had a bagel and a large coffee for breakfast and that's it. Shit, I'm so dumb! No wonder I feel like crap!"
"Knock it off and go eat." Metal growled, rolling his eyes and half shoving her off the couch.
Wiping her eyes on the sleeves of his hoodie, Jess shuffled across the room and opened the fridge.
"I don't know what to eat," She grumbled a little dramatically.
"This trip you're goin on better provide meals," Metal muttered darkly as he tried to at least pretend to be irritated and ignore Jess.
When the cupboard opened and he heard the Nutella jar open he slowly turned and looked over his shoulder at her.
"That is not food. Put that down."
"But-"
"There is perfectly good stir fry in the fridge. Eat that."
"I thought that was yours."
"We both know I would rather you eat my food and have to make something new than have you melting down because you haven't eaten anything today."
"Are you sure?"
"If you don't put that Nutella down and eat something proper in the next ten seconds-"
"Ok ok, I'm putting it away! Geez, you're so grumpy!"
There was a flash of uncertainty across Jess's face right after she said that and Metal only just caught the worried slip in her expression.
"I'm always grumpy," Metal answered gruffly enough to almost sound like he meant it but with the smallest smile so Jess would know she was ok to keep teasing.
It translated well and she suddenly smiled brightly with a warm kind of affection.
"No you aren't," Jess tossed the stir fry in the microwave. "Sometimes you're really nice, and kind and you make people feel safe and happy."
"Lies."
"Nope. You're a big old teddy bear. Admit it!"
"Never. It's a load of horse shit."
"Why do you pretend?" Jess sobered and stopped playing 'poke the bear' for a moment.
Casting a neutral eye over Jess as she came back to sit next to him on the couch, food in hand with a glass of water, Metal kept his expression deadpan.
"Pretend what?"
"That you aren't actually really kind and caring? Why pretend you're the kind of person who buries people with a bag of lye?"
"I do bury people with a bag of lye."
"No, you don't."
"You sure about that?"
Jess faltered a little, squinting at him.
Just for fun, Metal leaned forward and said, "Look me right in the eye and tell me you don't believe I would ever, under any circumstance, shoot, shovel and silence someone with a big old bag of lye if the need arose."
The girl went still and she stared at him for a good minute before whispering, "Shit, I can't and I don't know how I feel about that! What if you got caught!?"
Shrugging, Metal said nonchalantly, "Aw, don't worry about it, pips. I haven't been caught yet."
Predictably Jess's eyes went huge and she exclaimed, "Y-yet? What you mean yet! Don't tell me things like that!"
The reaction was just too funny and Metal started to laugh.
"Aw, pips. You are too much fun," he told her, dropping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a side hug.
"You're so mean." Jess scolded him half heartedly, trying to act grumpy about it while still deciding if she believed him or not. "You can't just say shit like that!"
"Yes I can. Which is why I'm Full Metal and have a reputation to keep."
Pulling out of the hug and digging into her food again, Jess shrugged, "Well, you're always just Scott to me. I like Full Metal too, but Scott's the best."
"Stop getting sappy."
"Make me!"
Jess grinned at him cheekily and he was sorely tempted to smack her in the face with a throw pillow. He didn't though. She was finally eating and he wasn't about to interrupt that.
"You're looking for trouble, kid. Be careful." He warned instead, turning his attention back to the game.
Friday came quickly and Jess wasn't sure if she'd made a good call or not.
Sitting at the 'neutral territory' grounds of a random little coffee shop that she picked, she checked her phone for the ninth time. Still no message from Jeremy or sign of him.
The longer she sat there, the more she wondered if she should have told Scott she wasn't headed home right away this afternoon. He was home today, so far as she knew and she had promised to keep him posted that she was safe or deviating for her usual day, just like he'd started to do more of too.
Deciding that she may as well and feeling just a little bad for not mentioning her impromptu lunch with her brother sooner, Jess started typing.
-Hey, Jer is in town and we're getting lunch at Mocha Cafe on York st. I'll probably be home in an hour or two tops.-
Hitting send, Jess put the phone down again, not really expecting to get an answer yet. A moment later she spied the unique form of her brother and she waved to get his attention.
"Hi, Jer!"
"Hey shortie!"
To her surprise, the young man came in with a smile and a hug offered, so Jess allowed it, wrapping her arms around the skinny beanpole and squeezing.
"Man, have you shrunk? You seem shorter," Jeremy made a show of measuring her against himself, grinning down at her.
"Haha, very funny. How's the weather up there? You know, I actually know people taller than you. You aren't really that tall."
"Oh yeah? Are they those 'Gorilla's' that mom keeps going on about? You still hanging around with them?"
"Yeah, they're my friends." Jess answered, tone shifting to wary.
Jeremy didn't notice as they sat down.
"That's cool. So what do they have to eat at this place that's good?"
"I don't know, I've never been here before."
"Really? Why didn't you pick a place you knew already?" Jeremy didn't look up from the menu as he asked the question, squinting at the options.
Jess bit her lip and hurried to find an answer that didn't sound paranoid or insulting, "Well, I just thought maybe it would be neat to try somewhere new with you, and I was, ah, in the area already."
"Fair enough. Would have been nice to have a point of reference though on the food, you know?"
"Yeah, you're right," Jess shifted uncomfortably and tried to convince herself this was fine. So what if he'd just used the same tone as their mom. It wasn't like he meant to.
"Oh, hey! This looks neat! Look at this one!"
The moment of shadow passed quickly as Jeremy leaned over the table and showed her what he'd found.
"Oh, wow! That does seem good, and with the tomatoes too, that about be good!"
"We should both get something different and try each other's, like we used to!"
"Ok!"
They ordered and waited for the food to come.
"So…what's new?" Jess asked after a slightly awkward silence.
"Just working lots," Jeremy looked up from his phone, his own brown eyes meeting her's. "Got a lot of new jobs coming in. It's a little overwhelming."
"I can imagine, but at least business is good? Right?"
"Yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it. What about you? What's new?"
"I might be going to the Amazon!" Jess blurted. She couldn't figure out why she said it because she never meant to, but the longer she sat there with her brother, the more this unshakable urge to impress him and gain his approval surfaced.
Jeremy stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"You mean, Amazon? Like the company?"
"No, dummy, I mean THE Amazon, like the rainforest!" Jess nearly rolled her eyes, instantly annoyed by the impatient and condescending tone her brother took on.
"Ok. Well, what are you doing there?" Jeremy asked slowly.
"Research." Jess answered, fighting the drive to explain and overshare with the young man sitting across from her.
"For what?"
"All kinds of stuff." Jess looked up at their server and thanked them as the food arrived.
Mostly ignoring the young woman putting plates down, Jeremy asked, "Like, medicine?"
"Yeah, that's part of it."
"If you discover something, do you get money?"
"I don't know. I hadn't thought about it."
Jeremy gave her another long, hard look before digging into the food that arrived moments earlier.
The conversation tapered into meaningless discussion about the food.
When that was over, Jeremy seemed to get agitated.
"Have…have you heard from mom lately?" He asked finally.
"No," Jess answered instantly.
"Good. I told her to back off."
"What?!"
"I told her to leave you alone."
"And she has?!"
"I guess."
Her brother gave her another odd, almost guilty look before saying in a quieter voice, "Look, kid…if you do see them, don't say anything about your trip, ok? Don't let them have any reason to start coming around and sniffing into your life again, especially if there's a possibility that you could…I don't know…get money because of the research or something. Harold…he's not a good dude, Jess."
"Ah, I could have told you that-"
"No. Like…he's really not a good dude. Just…if your friends are keeping you away from them, and it's working, and mom isn't contacting you…then that's good. Stay away from those two, Jess, whatever the cost. You were right about all of it. I'm sorry I never got you out before. I'll do what I can to keep you out of it from now on."
A weird sense of dread settled over Jess and she leaned forward. "Jer, you aren't really making a lot of sense right now."
"Sorry, long day. I haven't slept much. Hey! You wanna see the new App I built?"
"O-ok?"
"Here! It's a home security App! Watch this, this is set up at my house back in Florida!"
"Shit, Jer! How did you afford those digs?"
"Ah…business is really good, remember?"
"Oh. Ok."
"So this thing here? This lets me see the security cameras."
Jess settled for the long haul of her brother showing her all his new tricks and toys until the two hours mark and she had to leave.
All in all, she didn't think is was a terrible visit. She just had a lot of questions that never got answers and she wasn't sure she wanted the answers.
"The Amazon Rainforest? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Metal shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes. He could feel Trent's incredulous stare.
"Nope. I wish I was."
"I hate it." Trent answered.
"Me too." Metal agreed with a dark growl.
"Please tell me this trip isn't passing the tests."
"So far, it's checking out."
"Damn it." Trent picked up the info package and started flipping through it. "Fuck, this is exactly the kind of thing Jess would want to go do."
"Yup."
"Are we seriously going to let her go do this?" Trent groaned,
"It's not our choice, now are you going to help me finish vetting this thing and get her ready for this nightmare or not."
"Yeah, alright, what do you need?"
Metal paused, looking down at his phone. He had a message from Jess.
"Metal? What's with the face?"
"Jess is having lunch with Jeremy."
"Oh."
"He better not make her cry." Metal muttered, stuffing his phone back in his pocket, suddenly eager to get home and make sure Jess made it home safely. She should be there by now.
"What do you need from me?"
"Can you contact your buddy from the travel agency and make sure the airline they're gonna use is a good one?"
"Yeah. I'll also make up a first aid kit for Jess to take."
"Thank you."
"I'll also talk to Lisa about where she sources those really neat pants with the bottoms that insects don't like."
"Yeah, that's a good idea."
"We should have Clay start tutoring her in Portuguese, maybe brush up on Spanish too. Some parts speak both."
Metal nodded as they walked to the parking lot. Yet another good idea. Trent often had those. It was one of the many reasons the man was his best friend.
"I'm going to suggest to Jess that she ask Naima to help her get the medical stuff all sorted out." Metal said. "She's going to need to get on that fast if her shots aren't up to date."
"You realize we're going to be doing most of the leg work for this trip prep, right?" Trent gave him a look and Metal nodded grimly as the other man continued, "God love her, but Jess is not a planner."
"Nope. She is not."
"I'll get to work. See you at the Bulkhead later?"
"Yup. Jess is out of town this weekend on that horse thing and I need more than a few drinks."
"You really do tone it back with her living at your place, don't you."
Metal shot him a mild glare and Trent gave a nod of understanding.
"Ah," He said. "Yeah, that makes sense. We don't need another episode of 'Drunk Full Metal' coming home."
"I always say the only thing that scares me is me." Metal grumbled darkly as he got into his truck.
When he got home Jess wasn't back yet.
To curb his worry, he started making phone calls and pulling in favors from people he knew to finish running over this Amazon Trip with a fine toothed comb.
"Rob? Hey buddy, been a while. Do you still have friends who work for that security company?"
Shopping for food was one of Jess's least favorite tasks and it was twice as bad right now because she felt inexplicably exhausted since seeing her brother.
Still, she'd promised Pauline to pick up everything on the list for the weekend and she couldn't let her down.
Jess tried to read the list on her phone and steer the cart at the same time.
That was a mistake.
The cart came around the next corner into the next isle and crashed right into the back of someone's legs.
"Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry!" Jess exclaimed, hand flying to her mouth. The next words died in her mouth when the person she just ran into with the cart turned around.
"Good thing we're friends or I'd be asking for your license and registration."
"Officer Bailey." Jess blurted dumbly, staring up at him and praying the ground would open up to swallow her.
"Trevor," Bailey corrected, still gingerly rubbing the back of his leg a little with this other foot. "No uniform right now."
"Right." Jess answered, utterly mortified and unable to move. "Are you ok?!"
"Yeah, I'm good! Not my first time being run over. How are you doing these days, Jess?"
"Running into people with my shopping cart." Jess answered without thinking. "Ah, how are you?"
"I'm fantastic!" Trevor grinned and shifted the items he held in his arms. "Coming off four days of nights and heading into the weekend. It's a good day."
"That's great! Do you have some time off then?" Jess asked, desperate to try to salvage her dignity.
"I do! Three days."
"Awesome! Any big plans?" Jess nearly winced right after she asked because maybe that was too nosey. She hardly knew him and she probably should be asking things like that.
"Well, I'm fixing my roof. A tree fell on it in that last storm and it started to leak."
"Oh, that's not good!"
"No! It rains in my bathroom every heaving storm, so I gotta fix that." Trevor fell into step beside her and they slowly made their way down the isle. "What about you? Got any big plans for your weekend?"
"Yeah! My friend Pauline and I are going to a horseback riding event up near Richmond. It's just a little Cross-country evening show for beginners and green horses that a barn is putting on."
"Wow! That's really cool!"
"Thanks! So, yeah," Jess gestured lamely at her cart. "I'm getting the snacks and food, but I'm terrible at shopping so I was looking at the list, and that's why I ran into you. I'm really sorry-"
"Jess," Trevor gave a small laugh, "It's not a big deal. I was off in my own world anyway and not moving. You probably would have hit me even if you were paying attention."
"Ok." Jess tried to relax and figure out a non-awkward way to continue on her way and end the conversation. "Well, ah, I guess I better do my thing."
"Yeah, and I have roof that needs fixing." Trevor gave her another warm smile and waved as he walked off, "See you around, Jess! Safe horse adventures this weekend!"
"Bye!" Jess waved and tried to push her cart around the next corner, only she miss judged the distance and smacked loudly into the edge of a display, making the contents rattle loudly.
Looking around quickly to see if anyone saw, Jess spotted Trevor looking back, laughing. The humor wasn't at all in a mean way. Instead, it actually helped her feel less embarrassed and take herself less seriously. A foolish snicker left her mouth and Jess tried to right the cart, only the wheel locked and it scraped noisily across the floor.
"Oh my gosh!" Jess whined. "Why?!"
"You good?" Trevor asked, walking, seeming to be on the verge of walking back towards her.
"Yup! We're good!" Jess gave him the thumbs up and wrestled the cart out of sight, torn between giggling and crying from humiliation. Thinking of the warmth and acceptance for the humor of the situation in Trevor's demeanor, Jess decided to hold onto that instead and kept on with her mission of finding everything on the list.
She was almost done when her phone lit up with a text from Scott.
-Where you at?-
"Shit." Jess muttered. She said she would be home like an hour ago.
Texting back, Jess wrote, -Forgot I had to pick up food for the weekend. Sorry. Be home in a bit.-
A thumbs up came back and Jess hurried to finish up.
For whatever reason, by the time she got home she was full of anxiety over the idea of Scott being mad at her for not telling him where she was going next. It seemed silly, because deep down Jess knew she didn't have to tell him anything, and that he would just call if he was concerned about her. Still, she suddenly couldn't bear the idea of him being upset with her.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" Jess called the second she came through the door.
"It's fine." Scott answered. "You packed for this thing tomorrow?"
"No. I'm sorry, I just got side tracked-" Jess ran into the edge of the counter with her side and bit back a pained gasp.
"Give me those," Scott growled, taking the bags from her. "You ok?"
"I'm ok." She rubbed at the mark just above her hip bone.
"Go pack."
"I can help put those away!"
"No. Go pack."
"A-are…are you mad at me?"
The second the words left her mouth, Jess felt the anxious turn of her gut double when Scott turned a bewildered stare on her.
"No?! Why would I be mad at you?"
"I don't know. Cause I forgot to tell you I wasn't coming home right away?"
Narrowing his eyes at her and going really still, Scott tilted his head a little.
"Jess…have I given you the impression that I need to know exactly where you are and what you're doing at all times? Cause if I have we need to clear that up right now."
"No! I just…I don't know!"
Setting the bags down, all the while giving her that weird look, Scott asked, "What is going on?"
Feeling dumb and small, Jess shrugged and started to retreat to her room. "Nothing. I'm just tired I think. Sorry."
She just barely heard the soft, 'damn it' as she disappeared into her room and she tried to get her brain to work long enough to start throwing things in her back for the event the next day.
About ten minutes later, Scott knocked on her half open door and leaned on the frame.
"Everything go ok with your brother?" He asked.
Jess could feel him studying her, trying to figure out why she was acting the way she was.
"Yeah…I think so."
"You sure? Cause you're acting like you're upset about something, or like something shattered your confidence."
Pausing, Jess frowned and tried to think.
The truth was she didn't know how she felt about the visit at all.
"I think I'm ok," Jess answered slowly. "I just…I don't know. I feel weird after seeing him…like…like I'm a little kid again and I just spent half the conversation trying to gain his approval and feeling like I needed to impress him. And now I'm just this…anxious stress case!"
"Well," Scott's grumpy grumble softened slightly. "If you think you need to gain my approval, you don't, and you always impress me."
Unexpectedly, tears immediately sprang into Jess's eyes and she fought to control herself.
"Thank you."
"Want some help packing?" Scott offered, jerking his chin toward the mess in the middle of her bed.
"Yes, please. My brain is broken."
"See? You always manage to impress me. Broken brain and you're still standing."
"Heeyyyy…" Jess tattered between wanting to be sad and laughing.
A smile twitched around her mouth when Scott shot her a smirk.
With his help she finished packing and they got the truck loaded up for the morning.
"It's got a full tank of gas. Do you want me to come in the morning and make sure the lights work with the trailer?"
"Pauline said her boss can help set that up, if you're ok with it?"
"Yeah, I don't care."
"Thanks again for letting us borrow it."
"Uh huh. No problem. Don't get killed on a horse and we're even."
"I'm not gonna get killed on a horse! Geez, you sound like Sonny!"
"Hey, if you're gonna get insulting, I'm taking those truck keys back."
"I would dare you to take them from me, except I know you can, so that's no fun."
Snorting, Scott led the way back to the house, saying, "If there was a horse for you to jump onto, you could keep them away from me."
"That is true! Brock said I trump all of you with my horse skills. Is that true?"
"Yup."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Huh. Well now I'm curious to see all of you ride. I gotta see for myself how bad it is!"
"Maybe someday."