{12 October 2010; 5:23 PM}

Jane... had actually had a pretty good day, that day. Work was pleasantly uneventful, and she'd even stopped by to say hi to her sister on the way home. She was even in a bit of a 'cooking' mood, so she had gotten out all the things they she would need to make spaghetti (because Jane still didn't really trust Scott to be in the kitchen without burning it down. She'd tried to teach him how to make grilled cheese, but he'd managed to burn it so badly that she'd had to scrape off the burnt bread and cheese with a spatula) and had the pasta going, and the sauce simmering, and the kitchen smelled really, really good. Standing there with the smells wrapping around her reminded her (just a teensy bit) of when she was a kid, and she'd watch her mom and Erin cook. It was one of the few memories she still had that weren't tainted by her father somehow. (Pop always believed that cooking was women's work, and he really liked to eat, so he never bugged the Sharp women when they were cooking.)

She'd gotten everything all made, and had even set the table and everything, when It appeared. We've all heard that nursery rhyme, Little Miss Muffet, with the spider that frightened her away. Well, those little eight-legged demons had a similar effect on Jane. She hated spiders. She didn't know why; it wasn't like she'd had a traumatic experience with them or anything. She just hated them. A lot. So naturally, when she saw one dangling from the ceiling by a thread so thin and delicate that it seemed invisible, her eyes widened in terror, and she let out a loud, ear-splitting shriek as she jumped back as if she'd been burned. (She checked quickly to make sure the pot that had dinner in it was covered. It was. Thankfully.) This thing was huge, probably as big around as Jane's pinky finger, and it was black and sinister looking. She batted at the air above it, knocking it off the ceiling, causing it to land directly in the table. Duh. She'd forgotten that the thing would fall and land safely on the table, not plummet to its doom.

She grabbed the first thing she could reach to try to kill the thing with, which turned out to be a wooden spoon. Had she been thinking rationally, she probably wouldn't have done that, since no one wanted to cook with a utensil that had once had spider guts on it. Jane, however, was not thinking rationally. All she was thinking was that she wanted the evil little beast dead. She tried to smash it, but it scuttled away under a plate. Jane lifted up the plate, but it was gone. Oh, shit. She had no idea where the spider had gone; for all she knew, the vicious little monster could be creeping up her pants leg right then to sink its nasty little fangs into her flesh and kill her. (Yeah, Jane was arachnophobic.) She clutched her wooden spoon, wielding it like a sword, and stood on the couch. She really, really hated spiders, and there was no way that that thing was going to be allowed to live. Jane scanned the room, her eyes looking for small black moving specks. Ah-HA! There it was! Up in the corner. She narrowed her eyes at it. Oh, so now it was going to mock her height, too? She growled at it, sending it her most hateful Death Glare before jumping, trying to get it with her Wooden Spoon of Death. Of course, all she managed to do in the process was fall, and land. Hard. Ow. She really, really hated spiders.

Scott loved work, but he actually loved coming home from work, too. He didn't always like coming home from work. Before he married Jane, going home meant flipping through the channels, ordering pizza, and continuing to sit around trying to keep his mind off the fact that he was, in fact, alone and bored. Now, he always got to hang out with Jane, eat something besides take out, and just be with Jane, no matter what it was.

On this day, like any normal day, he decided to take Chewy out for a quick walk while Jane made dinner. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, or figured it was 'her job' or any hoo-ha like that... he simply wasn't allowed in the kitchen anymore. He tried, he really tried, to learn to cook. It was just... not in his cards to cook. And, it smelled far too good in the house for him to not take random taste tests and possibly mess something up. So, everything considered, walking the dog was the best choice.

Scott put on Chewy's leash as his little dog butt wiggled frantically from side to side. Usually, Chewy was ecstatic to go on the walk and then quickly over it about halfway through. He was lazy, it was expected. Scott found himself walking a little faster today and taking the short route around the neighborhood. Having smelled the delicious sauce simmering in the kitchen may have put that extra hop in his step. Scott noticed a few clouds in the distance that were fairly dark and ominous. He got a little excited, having always like thunderstorms. The sound of the rain always seemed to relax him and he loved watching the lightening and counting the seconds until the thunder arrived after it. He really liked them all around.

He rounded the corner and Chewy suddenly sped up as they walked up the driveway. Scott thought he heard a faint scream, but chalked it up to the, uh, noisy neighbors. He just rolled his eyes. Scott bent down and unhooked Chewy's leash before opening the door from the garage into the house. He let him in first and followed him. As he shut the door behind him, he heard a big thump. He peered around as he stepped into the dining room, "Jane? Hello?" He glanced around, wondered where she went and what the big thump was when he finally saw her on the ground... holding a wooden spoon.

"Jane!"Scott hurried over, offering to help her up, "Are you alright? What... are you doing?" He was relieved she didn't seem to be hurt badly or anything and released a breath he seemed to be holding. He eyed the wooden spoon in her clutches and tried to hold back his laugh. He arched his eyebrow at the white knuckles grip she still had on the spoon and looked back at to her face. He was really anxious to hear how exactly she ended up on the floor in the living room... holding a spoon.

To add insult to injury, Scott (naturally) came home right as Jane was leaping through the air. She sat up and frowned. Ow. Damn spider. She was more embarrassed than anything else, really. She knew that her fear of spiders was completely irrational, and she tried to keep it under wraps when she could. She had (thankfully) not encountered any of the little monsters in the month (and two days) that they'd been married, but that day, her luck ran out. She accepted Scott's help to get up, dusting herself off a bit in a vain attempt to retain something like dignity. (It was probably a bit late for that, though. She had, after all, fallen while trying to attack a spider with a wooden spoon.) Her shoulder was sore, and her wrist hurt bit, as well as her hip, but there weren't any real injuries, as far as she could tell. "There was a gigantic spider in the corner of the room. I was trying to kill it, but it was too high for me to reach." While she recognized the utter absurdity of the situation, she really didn't think it was necessary for Scott to laugh.

She ran a hand through her hair sheepishly, looking up at Scott. "I, uh, I have this thing about spiders. I really, really don't like them." Which was an understatement. Jane's hatred of spiders was only slightly below her hatred of her father and thunderstorms. (She refused to call it a fear. Jane was not afraid of anything. She just held deep-seated hatreds for certain things.) She walked back into the kitchen to put the wooden spoon back into the drawer it belonged. She poured herself a glass of water and, after a moment's consideration, poured Scott one, too. She came back out and set them both on the dining room table. She felt rather ridiculous. Ridiculous and sore. She was going to have a delightful bruise on her hip and shoulder, and probably on her wrist, too.

"Uh, dinner's ready," she called, gesturing to the table. Apparently Chewy thought that Jane was talking to him, because he trotted in, wagging his butt. Jane crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. No way was he getting spaghetti. (He sometimes liked to come in when Jane forgot to close her door all the way and climb up on her bed; he took up nearly as much room as she did, and he always seemed to have gas when he decided to do that. 'People food' exacerbated that.) She rolled her eyes when the dog looked up at her with 'big sad puppy eyes.' Those did not work on Jane. She wasn't called 'Ice Princess' in school for nothing.

((Yeah, it sucks. -.-))

Scott looked around the room after Jane mentioned something about trying to kill a spider. He didn't see anything on the walls... or up in the corners... When he looked back down to Jane, she nervously admitted that she wasn't exactly a fan of spiders. A half smirk fell upon his face. He really couldn't put his finger on why, but everything that Jane did was just... so cute. He knew by now that she hated being seen as 'cute.' Which, consequently, made her even more cute.

While Jane was in the kitchen Scott slowly walked around the living room looking up at the ceiling, scanning for the evil spider that caused all this ruckus. He grabbed a Kleenex in preparation for the kill. He didn't have a problem with spiders, but he didn't exactly like them either. People had always expected him to love all living creatures with his vet career, but he didn't consider insects or spiders to be 'animals.' He only liked taking care of pets. That was about the extent of it. Needless to say, he was okay with killing whatever bug or creature that was crawling around his house.

Scott did one more glance around the room before heading to the table where Jane had dinner all ready. How did they just disappear like that? "I dunno where it went... Chew, no, go lay down." He snapped his fingers at Chewy as he saw him begging like crazy next to the table. He had always tried to break him of that habit and it never seemed to work. Scott opted to eat the delicious smelling food before going back on the spider hunt. He could barely think straight knowing that food was patiently waiting to be devoured by him. His stomach growled in agreement.

He dished up his usual huge helping (he really was a bottomless pit when it came to food) and immediately dug right in. He wasn't sure how she did it, but even something as simple as spaghetti tasted fantastic. "This... is amazing, as usual. Thanks for making it and everything." He always felt bad for not being able to help with cooking, still. It had been a month-ish and he just wanted everything to be normal in their marriage. He wanted to stop feeling awkward at times and just be... comfortable. He usually was, in fact, he had moved past limiting how much he ate at dinner. He now took his normal serving and ate it all. He was used to eating whole large pizzas by himself, so limiting himself to say, one grilled cheese, felt like he was starving himself.

"So, how was your day minus the evil spider?" He shoved more spaghetti in his mouth to cover up his small smile. About halfway through his huge mound of noodles and sauce he glanced up at the ceiling again, having almost forgot about the failed spider hunt, and there it was. He dropped his fork on his plate and slowly stood up, "Speak of the devil..." he mumbled while grabbing the Kleenex from the pocket of his scrub pants. It was up in a corner where the ceiling met the wall. It seemed to be crawling down as Scott approached it. He nonchalantly raised the hand with Kleenex in hand and slapped the spider. There really were advantages to being tall sometimes. He looked at the Kleenex to ensure it was smooshed, "Got it. You are now safe." He smiled over at Jane before crumpling up the Kleenex and throwing it in the trash. He sat back down at the table to finish his plate and hear about Jane's day.

Jane would probably never admit it, but the fact that Scott liked her cooking made her really happy. She liked being able to do something right; she'd never really been praised for anything before. She usually had to fight and kick and scratch just to get people to admit that she was even adequate, let alone good at something. It was nice to not have to do that. It made her smile. Of course, most things Scott did made Jane smile; she didn't quite understand it, but she wasn't sure she wanted to question it. Why mess with a good thing, right? In response to his thanks, she only shrugged and smiled, taking a bite of her own meal. "My pleasure." This wasn't normal; Jane never got all squishy and giggly inside.

It pained Jane, how completely undignified the little shriek she gave when she saw the spider on the wall was. Jane was a lot tougher than that. She did not let people know that she was terrified of spiders. As far as anyone else was concerned, she was impenetrable. (Except for Scott, but that was because he seemed to have a way of bypassing all her defense mechanisms.) She was thoroughly embarrassed, and smiled back at Scott sheepishly when he informed her that he had, in fact, slayed the evil beast. "Thanks." Well, at least he didn't seem to think she was as silly as she felt. She rather liked the way he was so nonchalant about it. She realized that killing a spider really wasn't any big thing, but for her, it was. He'd killed the spider for her, because she was afraid of it, and she hadn't even asked.

"It was good. I saw my sister today; she wants to have Thanksgiving with us, um, if that's okay," looking at him hopefully. Jane had never been the type to ask permission from anyone, but (much to her surprise and occasionally, chagrin) she really did want Scott's approval. She also really wanted him to be okay with her sister coming over, and she wanted them to like each other. They were both really important to her. (Also, she was surprised at how easily she'd gotten used to being part of an 'us.' Things were still a little bit awkward occasionally, but for the most part, they seemed to fit each other pretty well.)

It was strange how Scott felt like a super hero just by killing a spider on the wall. Of course, as a kid, he had always responded with 'a super hero' when grown-ups would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He never thought he could actually live up to that dream, even if it was just a tiny miniature fraction of his true dream. He didn't save Jane with as much flare and drama, but he could always exaggerate the story or something. It was a HUGE mutant spider with TEN legs and he squished it with his BARE HANDS just before it was about to gobble up Jane. Yeah... that sounded better.

As Jane thanked him for killing the huge beast of a spider he returned, "My pleasure." Scott looked down at his dark blue scrubs, realizing he hadn't even changed since he got off work. There were a few stray hairs here and there, but not as bad as some days. It was a relatively slow day, only having to neuter one dog and then ended up answering questions on the phone all day. He still felt a little gross eating while wearing the dirty scrubs, but shoved the thought aside as Jane told him about her day.

Scott hadn't even thought about Thanksgiving. It was a holiday in which he was completely worthless and would probably end up ordering pizza if he didn't go home. So, he would make his solo road trip up to Wisconsin to see the parents and get stuffed with way too much food. He figured they wouldn't care that he wanted to stay here with his wife and her sister. It actually sounded really nice. "Yeah, that sounds great." He kind of loved that Jane had a sister. Scott always wanted siblings and now he had a sister-in-law. He lov-....really really liked Jane, so he was sure he would like Jane's sister. "Would we have it here? You know I'll be completely useless..."

Jane wasn't sure why, but everything Scott did was just... awesome. Even killing a stupid spider. Jane kind of saw Scott as a superhero, except that he was better than anything out of a comic book, because he was real. And he killed spiders just because they scared Jane, whether she asked him to or not. And he didn't make fun of her for being afraid of something so stupid. Whether Scott (or even Jane) knew it, it really, really meant a lot to her that he did that. The dead spider was not just a dead spider- it was a symbol. (In Jane's mind, at least. She thought that she was probably reading too much into it, but she was new at this whole 'relationship' thing. She was allowed.) Jane had never had anyone who was at all protective of her. Well, that wasn't true. She'd had Erin, but Erin had needed Jane's protection just as much as Jane had needed hers. Jane had always had to be the strong one and the tough one. It was nice to be something else for a change. She wouldn't ever admit it, but she kind of liked being the 'cute, sweet one' with Scott.

She didn't eat nearly as much as he did, but she did eat a fairly healthy-sized portion for someone as small as she was. She happened to have had a really high metabolism, which was why she would never have curves, ever. It was rather depressing, actually, but she'd heard that big hips and such tended to get in the way when one was running around and climbing trees and generally acting like a ten-year-old boy in a nineteen-year-old girl's body. (Another thing that she was grateful for was that the age difference hadn't proved to be that big of a deal, after all.)

Jane couldn't hold in the dimpled grin she got when Scott said that he wouldn't mind having Thanksgiving there, with her sister. She hadn't had an actual, good family Thanksgiving, like, ever, and this was her chance to. There would be no evil aunts, no abusive fathers, no broken-willed mothers, only Jane and Scott and Erin, and it'd be happy and there would be food, and it would be as close to normal as Jane and Erin would probably ever get. "Yeah, we'd probably have it here. You wouldn't be completely useless. You could probably set the table," Jane teased, smirking at him just a little. "Besides, Erin's an amazing cook, especially Thanksgiving-y type food. She was the one who always hung out in the kitchen with our mom when we were little, when I was too busy climbing trees and playing in the mud. She probably won't even need me to help her, except maybe to stir stuff or keep her company." Without realizing it, Jane sometimes dropped these little clues about what life had been like for her before she'd met Scott. She generally evaded such question when asked directly, though.

A faint roll of thunder sounded, and Jane frowned a little bit. She'd hated thunderstorms for as long as she could remember. She could never get to sleep when they rolled in at night.

Scott couldn't explain how much he loved the little dimple that showed up when Jane really smiled. But even before that, he loved that he could make her smile just by saying her sister could come over for Thanksgiving. It was silly, really. Why wouldn't he want her sister over for Thanksgiving? Scott scrunched up his nose and made a little face back at Jane when she mentioned he could set the table. He was quite surprised that Jane thought her sister was a great cook. Did that mean... she was better than Jane? He figured she was just being humble or something like that.

He glanced up from his food and paused. "So I have to set the table and you get to stir things?" He teased back and smirked a little bit. Really, he would gladly set the table. He would do anything he could, just to help out and make her happy. He still was a little unsure as to why he always just wanted to make Jane happy. Maybe it was to see her dimpled smile, maybe it was because she was his wife and he felt obligated. Either way, he couldn't really help it.

When Jane mentioned her mom, Scott wanted badly to ask about her. He knew that she had passed, but wasn't sure about her whole past. He wondered if it was a sore subject and was almost certain it was. Jane seemed genuinely happy when she talked about her sister and her mother and their memories from when she was young. Scott hadn't met or heard much about her dad, so she was clearly closer to her mom. He felt bad that she had to lose someone close to her and wished he could fix it. Make everything better. Be the superhero again.

Scott stood up and picked up his finished plate and held out his hand for hers as well. He was rarely the one who cleared the table, did dishes, etc, but he wanted to this time. It was probably the mention of her childhood and her mom that did it. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with the dishes once he got to the sink, but he wanted to try and help out more. He took her plate without a word, but a simple grin on his face. He took the plates over to the sink and started to rinse the plates. He thought he heard a little rumble of thunder and got a little excited. He either wanted to go watch the storm on the porch or sit on the couch and cuddle with Chewy Jane. He definitely knew which one would be much much better...

She nodded when Scott clarified what their 'jobs' would be. "Yup. I can boil water without starting a fire," she said with a smirk. "You could probably lick the spoon, too, if we make something sweet," she added after a moment's thought. She liked that she could joke with him and not worry about being 'uppity' or 'mouthy.' Jane was kind of a smartass sometimes, and it had only ever gotten her in trouble, because she never had anyone who didn't mind (or even liked) that she had a sarcastic sense of humor. She could be a little more... herself, she guessed, around Scott. She didn't feel like she had to constantly defend or justify herself around him. Jane liked who was was when she was with Scott. Something about him brought out the better parts of her.

Of course, he didn't ever get to see the less likable things. She didn't like talking about her past. At first it had been because she rather stubbornly refused to open up to him (which really hadn't worked, since there was something disarmingly sweet and nerdily charming about him that made her melt a little inside), but now... Jane liked being the adorable little wife that he got lucky to be matched with. She didn't want to be the 'problem child' from the wrong side of the tracks. She didn't want him to look at her and feel the need to 'fix' her, especially when he'd had basically the perfect childhood. Jane was tough. Jane was strong. Jane did not let stupid things like her father or her aunt or basically every lifetime citizen of Evergreen get to her. She didn't need to be fixed. She wasn't broken.

Jane was pleasantly surprised when Scott cleared the table; usually, she did most of the housework-type stuff. She got up and followed him into the kitchen, possibly to help him do dishes. Possibly not. She wasn't sure, except that she liked being near him. And that she was pretty sure she was far more deserving of his attention than the dishes. She sat on the counter next to the sink with one leg crossed over the other, leaning back on her hands, kind of waiting for Scott to take notice of her. He didn't seem to be though, so she scooped some of the soap suds out of the sink and was about to blow them at him, when a big, ominous-sounding roll of thunder shook the entire atmosphere. She frowned and flinched ever so slightly. Really, it more of a minute tensing of the muscles in her neck and shoulders then anything else. (That's what she would call it, anyway.) Jane had already inadvertently revealed her irrational fear of spiders that day, and she really rather hoped that Scott hadn't seen her flinch at the thunder. It was a ridiculous fear, especially when she wasn't y'know, five anymore. Maybe... maybe she would her door open that night, so Chewy could come in and flop on her if he wanted to. Having someone (or something, as the case may be) else there to hold on to had always been the only way Jane had ever been able to sleep when a storm rolled in. Briefly, she though of asking Scott if she could stay with him, but quickly dismissed the idea. She was pretty sure he liked her well enough, but sharing a bed (even just for sleeping) was kind of... much, maybe. And she was still kind of shy when it came to stuff like that. The odd hug here or there was fine, but...

Scott gave a little resentful look towards Jane - completely joking, of course. It wasn't entirely his fault if he forgot about the water every time. It took way too long to boil water, in his opinion. So why stand there and watch nothing happen when you can go read something... like a comic book... and play Wii... and watch television?

The thought of licking the spoon made him chuckle a little bit, "I look forward to it. And what do you mean if? Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without a pie... or two." His eyes shifted, dropped the ever so subtle hint. He really hoped that there would be dessert. That was definitely his favorite part of eating. Especially after so many years of take-out and pizza, he never really had the opportunity to have desserts, unless he happened to pick up some Oreos at the store. But, even Oreos didn't hold a candle to homemade desserts.

Living with Jane felt pretty natural by now. Although, he still didn't feel like he was married. Except for the ring on his left hand that reminded him every day... and the occasional pet owner asking him about it. He always got a smile on his face, a small blush, and proudly answered, "Yep, her name is Jane." He was genuinely happy, but it still just kind of felt like he had the best roommate in the world, rather than a wife. They hadn't exactly gotten... close. Maybe a side snuggle on the couch here, or little peck there, but nothing that really screamed significant other, let alone, spouse.

While Scott fiddled around with soap, water and their dishes, Jane popped up out of no where on to the counter next to him. His eyes glanced briefly at her with a hint of a smirk on his lips. He tried to focus more on the dishes, almost feeling a little nervous with her looming over him. Was he doing it wrong? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. He didn't really know. Couldn't be too hard, right? The way that Jane was sitting caught his attention, definitely, but he didn't want to ogle her while she was staring right at him. He could feel his cheeks warm just slightly and he was a little more aware of his heart beat. You'd think she was doing something other than simply sitting there, even if she did have a tinge of sass to her. A low rumble started to move through the house and his concentration was broke as he glanced around and back to Jane who had a handful of suds. Somehow the rumble of thunder calmed him, soothed him and he shot a smile at Jane before letting out a puff of air, shooting the suds towards her before she could do the same to him. He bit his bottom lip and chuckled a little at her.

A little while after the thunder, he saw a flash of lightening peeping through their blinds. The storm was still a ways away, but he could tell it was going to be a good one. He rinsed the plates and placed them in the bottom of the sink and raised his wet hands slightly, "Now what do I do?" He gave a bit of a pathetic, helpless look at Jane. He wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to dry the dishes by hand, or let them dry... why hadn't he ever watched her, taken some notes, or anything? He grabbed a towel to dry off his hands. He stood, drying his hands and found himself slightly staring at Jane. He wanted nothing more than to hug her, kiss her, and just be a normal husband for her. He looked down at the floor, to the dishes and back to her, "I tried to help..." His shoulders raised slightly and a goofy grin was planted on his face.

Jane was surprised and a bit startled when Scott blew the soap suds at her. She play-scowled and stuck her tongue out. Because she wasn't an adult or anything like that. The scowl was quickly replaced by a smile, though. Scott made her smile, without even doing anything. Just being near him made Jane smile. She didn't know why, and it kind of weirded her out sometimes, but she'd decided that it wasn't a bad thing, and therefore should not be questioned. (She'd never been in love before, or even had a crush, so she didn't recognize the symptoms.) She was just glad that she and her husband got on well enough. When she thought about it, she didn't particularly 'feel' married, either. She didn't know what 'feeling' married would be, though. Jane had never really been one for all that lovey-dovey crap, and she was not one of those 'hopeless romantic' types. She wasn't even sure she believed in love, though, so what did she know? Maybe she'd 'feel' married after a bit longer.

She knew that that she sure liked being married to Scott, though. He was good to her, she thought. Of all the possible people she could have gotten matched with, she was glad she'd gotten him. She liked how things were, with them. She did wonder, a little bit, sometimes, what it would be like to be like a normal couple. Because she knew that she and Scott weren't one. Jane had never been normal, though, so she was more or less okay with not being part of a normal couple. Besides... that would later, right? Really, if Jane was measuring her marriage by her parents;, she was already doing way better than them. There was no unspoken understanding that Jane had settled, and Jane wasn't nineteen and knocked up by some random drunken stranger, and Scott wasn't at all abusive. She thought that that simple fact, all by itself, was enough to endear him to her greatly.

Jane bit her lip and grinned at Scott. His pathetic, helpless look was just... cute. She shook her head and slid off the counter, gently grabbing the dishtowel from his hands. "Now, you dry them." She pushed up her sleeves and stood between Scott and the sink, dishtowel in hand as she dried the dishes. She could feel her own heartbeat quicken just a little, being so close to him. Scott seemed to have a way of doing that. It was weird, but in a really good way. She did want to get closer to him, she just didn't really know how. Once the dishes were clean, Jane turned and wrapped her arms around Scott's waist, right as the lightning flashed. Apparently, it was going to be a really big thunderstorm. Oh, joybells. She looked up and smiled at Scott. "I appreciate your attempt. It was very helpful." Part of Jane was making 'ick' faces. She was never that cutesy. Scott made her that way, though. He made her want to be a normal wife, and all snuggly and stuff. Scott was really, really huggable, so being all snuggly wouldn't have been difficult at all.

Scott leaned his hand on the counter while Jane took over and dried the dishes he attempted to clean. Hopefully they were clean enough, he assumed so if she dried them without cleaning them herself. He smirked down at her, watching her little hands work with the dishtowel. Scott was finding himself more and more attracted to Jane mentally and otherwise just by watching her do little things. Just holding a dishtowel, drying dishes made him want to scoop her away again. He couldn't explain it, that's just how it was.

He then found himself with Jane attached to him around his waist and he smiled wide. He looked down while automatically wrapping his arms around her torso. It was like his arms were compelled to hold her back and pull her closer. He had a weird fluttery feeling in his stomach and his heart seemed to skip half a beat at the close encounter. "If you say so..." an eyebrow was slightly raised, figuring he was more harmful than helpful, but it was the thought that counted, right? He swayed her slightly left and right with a small grin still on his face, looking down at her. He was completely smitten with Jane and didn't even realize it. He had a hunch, but wasn't completely aware.

Scott glanced his eyes towards the television and looked back at Jane, "Whaddya say we watch the tube?" He started to waddle Jane over to the living room while still holding her, almost so she wouldn't let go of the hug that he loved. "Then again, you have no choice. You're comin' with me whether you like it or not," he gave a small chuckle and continued to waddle her across the dining room and to the couch. He found himself opening up and not holding back any of his silly tendencies anymore. He plopped her on the couch and grabbed the remote off of the coffee table before plopping down right next to her. Again, his arm worked with a mind of its own and lifted up and over Jane's shoulders. He leaned back, relaxing and feeling how full he really was.

Scott flipped on the television and immediately saw a screen full of reds and greens, indicating the storm coming for them really was a doozy. There were tornado watches all over and thunderstorm warnings peppered all over the map as well. It seemed Evergreen was going to get a good red portion flying right over them. It was a little late in the year for a storm of this magnitude, but when thinking back, it had really been a pretty mild autumn, so it kind of made sense. It would definitely be the last real good storm for a while before it suddenly turned to snow. It seemed like every channel he flipped through had a weather report interrupting regular programming, "Do they really need to tell us on every channel? Sheesh." A roll of thunder vibrated through the house, as if answering his question for him.

Jane grinned back at Scott when he swayed her gently from left to right, laughing a little. She liked how goofy he was sometimes. Really, she just liked him She was also quite smitten, though she didn't exactly know it. Y'know, yet. She moved her feet so that she was standing on his toes, and whenever he moved his feet, he was moving hers, too. She hadn't even known she'd had a silly, child-like side, but Scott brought it out. She was, for possibly the first time in her life, well and truly happy. She really, really liked her life at that moment, and it was mostly because of Scott. She'd never exactly believed in all that love stuff, but even she couldn't deny that being with Scott had changed her. (Very much for the better, she thought.)

She giggled as Scott waddled her into the living room. "Oh no, not that," she teased. She liked that he was opening up to her, too; it made it easier to open up to him. It was funny, because opening up to someone had always terrified Jane. Well, it wasn't so much that it scared her, as that she had never had anyone want her to open up to them, and so she'd convinced herself that she didn't want to open up to them in the first place, so it didn't really sting as much. She giggled some more as Scott plopped her down on the couch unceremoniously. She snuggled into his side when he sat next to her and put his arm around her. It felt so natural now, to be tucked into his side like that. She liked how they seemed to fit together just perfectly.

She felt a growing sense of dread as the storm warnings showed up on every channel. If the storm was that bad, would they end up getting the power knocked out, too? Not that it was that big of a deal, since Jane wasn't afraid of the dark (and even if she was, she had those glow-in-the-dark stick-on stars up on her ceiling) but she really, really hated thunderstorms. Really, any kind of storm that was loud and destructive. She'd nearly lost it when the tornado blew through town in June. She didn't mind snowstorms, but (in general) they weren't nearly as loud as the other kinds. That was what got to Jane the most- the noise.

This was demonstrated as thunder crashed and set the whole house vibrating, it seemed. Jane shrank into Scott's side, looking slightly disgruntled. She sighed softly and reached up to take the hand Scott had on her shoulder, lacing her fingers through his. "Apparently, they think they do. I don't think they do, personally." Of course, Jane didn't find this whole 'thunderstorm' business necessary in general, so she may have been a bit biased.

Scott got the best feeling when Jane got all giggley. He loved her giggle. It was cute. The sound floated in his ears and straight to his heart. At least that's what it felt like to him. It was as if his heart would swell each time and in return put a big smile on his face. What was even better was the fact that he put that smile on her face and that giggle in the air. She put her feet on top of his and he resisted the urge to just pick her right up off the ground. Unaware as why he held back, he continued with the waddle. He was glad she played along with his slightly goofy tendencies, it was easier that way. She didn't think he was weird, or odd, or stupid. And if she did, she didn't let it show.

Jane fit nicely under his arm. It just felt right. Almost perfect. Probably the closest thing to perfect that Scott had ever felt before. His heart always seemed to feel lightweight around her. It was a weird feeling that he never really had before. He had his assumptions as to what it might be, but was never really certain what to make of it. So, he just sat there and enjoyed it.

Scott gave a little squinty eye downwards towards Jane who seemed to shrink (even though she seemed so tiny to him in the first place) into his side. Maybe she was just adjusting and it really had nothing to do with the vibrating roll of thunder that barged through the living room. It left his mind as she intertwined her fingers with his. He smiled softly and turned back to the television. He flipped to the higher channels that didn't care at all about what the weather was doing. They had a few normal shows they watched, but he inevitably landed on his usual history or discovery channel. It didn't even matter what time it was, he always seemed to like whatever was on. He zoned out as his mind got a little fuzzy and sleepy while his stomach digested all his spaghetti.



Scott's eyelids kept drooping down over his eyes every so often as he tried to focus on the television. His body had sunk farther into the couch and his arm seemed to wrap itself around Jane a little more than before. Every so often he found his mind drifting off into a weird wonderland in which he was part of the show that he was watching. He always came back to reality a second later, realizing it wasn't normal to be involved with the shows you were just watching a second ago. His head bobbed backwards and he quickly lifted it back up. His free arm raised up and he rubbed his face with his hand. He suddenly realized how much it had started to storm outside. The rain was pounding on the roof and the lightening had gotten much more frequent, along with the thunder. They didn't seem to be completely in the thick of it, but it was damn close.

Scott gently rubbed Jane's upper arm, "Hey, I think I'm gonna have to head to bed. I'm doing some major head bobs over here." He started to yawn with his last few words, gave a couple pats on her shoulder and his arms raised up into a stretch. His stretch went all through his body from his fingers to his toes and he let out a big groan. He felt like an old man. He was completely exhausted and wasn't exactly that late. Then again, he had to wake up early and get to work every day, too.

As Scott released his stretch, his arms fell around Jane, encasing her in a bear hug. He gave her a big smooch on the cheek and paused for the briefest second wishing he could just give her a simple kiss on the lips without being completely terrified of ruining everything. "Goodnight," he finally said with a smile and got up to revert back to his bedroom. It was really more of a sulk, wishing he could look up at the glow in the dark stars every night with Jane in his arms. He wasn't even wishing for more at this point, just to simply be in the same room. Instead, he ducked into his room, as he did every night.

Jane really didn't mind Scott holding her closer. She liked it, really, even if he was sort of nodding off to sleep. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, liking being able to just be with him. She still flinched with every crash of thunder, but being tucked into Scott made her feel safe and warm and cozy. It felt just... perfect. He was perfect. She thought so, anyway, and she didn't really care if anyone else thought so. Her sister liked him, and Jane thought that maybe she might kind of love him just a little bit (you know, eventually.) That was all that mattered. She was actually feeling a bit drowsy herself, so Scott, at least, wasn't the only one nodding off.

That was why, when Scott rubbed her upper arm and pulled away from her a little bit, she pouted ever so slightly. She wasn't really looking forward to trying to go to sleep by herself, if she'd even be able to. When Jane was really little, she'd only been able to get to sleep during thunderstorms by snuggling in with her sister. Once again, she had the urge to ask Scott if she could stay with him. Besides the fact that she was afraid of storms... the idea of falling asleep in Scott's arms just sounded really nice. She stifled a yawn and smiled as Scott's arms fell down around her. That was her favorite place to be- in Scott's arms. She might not ever admit it, as she didn't own up to things like 'emotions' or 'attachment to another human being,' but she loved being held by him. Her kiss on her cheek had her grinning like an idiot, and she was almost sad when he pulled away to go back to his own room.

Of course, as these things often seem to, the second she was in her own bed, everything seemed to get bigger and louder and scarier. The storm made lots of old memories come flooding back, compounding her pre-existing thunderstorm phobia and making her feel ridiculous as she buried herself under her blankets. She had the pillow pulled over her head, too, trying to block out the sounds. (It didn't work.) She sighed to herself aggravatedly. Pull it together, Jane. Stop acting like a child. She groaned a little to herself when she heard the door squeak open. (How she heard that over the thunder that was threatening -in her mind, anyway- to tear the whole house apart, she wasn't actually sure.) "Chewbacca, out!" she commanded, muffled and rendered completely unintimidating by the covers pulled over her head.