Room 406, Later Saturday Evening

[izzyalienqueen]

After cheerleading practice, Isabel returned to her room and resumed making phone calls about Fourth of July. It looked like she might be able to pull off fireworks after all.

Eventually Greg got bored of listening to her harass vendors and nudged her until she promised to pay attention to him. After a few minutes of hedgehog charades, they managed to agree on watching the first season of Buddies.

The laptop's on a chair next to the bed, Isabel is comfortably sprawled across the bed, and Greg is curled in a ball on his pillow next to her.

The door is open.

Comments

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Having retrieved his bag from the common room freezer on the way out the door, Jack bounded up the stairs to the fourth floor, leaving him slightly out of breath by the time he reached Isabel's room.

He stared at the hedgehog burdened pillow as he walked in the door. "Is that a hedgehog?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"That's Greg," Isabel replied as she sat up. "He just happens to be a hedgehog at the moment."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Greg?" Jack studied him while he sat down on the bed. "Well, the hair's still the same. You get stuck looking after all the transformed students?"

He held a hand out towards the gredgehog. "Hi Greg. You enjoying being a hedgehog?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Only the ones that matter to me," Isabel smiled. She pointed at Jeramiah's tank on her desk. "Or the real pets of the people that matter. I'm looking after Jeramiah for Xander for a few days."

Greg shook his head in a definite "No!"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry, it'll pass," he said to Greg. "And you're in good hands."

Returning his attention to Isabel, he said, "I don't think I ever said thank you for looking out for me while I was a fox. Maybe this will make up for it?" He pulled a tub of Ben & Jerry's Carmel Sutra out of the bag and two spoons.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You didn't have to do that," Isabel grinned, "Of course now that you're here, it would be a shame to see good ice cream go to waste."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Hey! I said there'd be ice cream and I always keep my promises." Jack thought about that while he pried the lid off the ice cream. "At least to people who matter." Handing her a spoon, he glanced at Greg. "Ice cream probably isn't good for hedgehogs."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Good," Isabel said with a small smile, realizing what he meant. She took the spoon then reached behind her and grabbed a small bottle of Tabasco off her desk. "Unfortunatly, no. He's on a steady diet of meal worms, fruits and veggies. I promised him I'd cook him dinner when he changed back."

Greg pouted and curled up on his pillow.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Poor Greg." Jack smiled at the pouting gredgehog. "They wouldn't let me have coffee while I was a fox, so I sympathise."

Pointing at the tabasco, he asked, "Are you going to pour that in the ice cream? Not that I mind, but can I taste it first?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't do that to you," Isabel promised. "I'll just add it to my ice cream after I spoon it out."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Can I taste that? I'm intrigued by the thought of tabasco and ice cream." Setting the tub between them, he leaned against the wall and dug out a spoonful, smiling at it and then at Isabel. "Ice cream and Isabel. Life doesn't get a lot better than this."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Sure," she said as she took a spoonful and doused it. Handing the bottle over, Isabel grinned. "Sweet and spicy is an aquired taste. I'm not sure you're going to like it."

Rolling her eyes, she reached out with her free hand to rub Greg's head. "You're easily satisfied aren't you?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Somehow I think you'll survive," Isabel said dryly. Laughing, she shook her head. "Stick to the plain ice cream. Or at least the appropriate toppings. Less questions to answer then."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Just to be difficult, Jack added tabasco to another spoon of ice cream before handing the bottle back. "But I don't mind answering questions, and it would be a hell of a conversation starter."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She snickered, "I can so see you taking the sweet and spicy thing and just running with it. You should ask Cedric what he thinks of it."

Isabel reached over to pet Greg again and stopped, drawing back her hand when she realized he'd gone to sleep. "Guess we have to keep it down now."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it's best to let sleeping hedgehogs lie, or something." Considering his spoon, Jack said, "Sweet and spicy actually sums Cedric up pretty well." His shoulders drooped slightly, only noticeable if you were looking closely, as he ate his ice cream. "Mostly."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel has gotten pretty good at picking up the nuances of Jack moods and body language. "What's wrong? Did he hear from home?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"No, not yet." Technically, that's not a lie. "I'm just...worried about him." He shrugged, smiling at her. "It's a new thing, so I'm still working the kinks out."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Damn," she said quietly. "It's been almost two months. That's a long time. But why are you worried? Did he say something?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I know. I hope it's just the mail, because if they're just not writing to him..." Lips tight and angry, he said, "I'm not going to hope that something bad happens to them, because that would devastate Cedric, but I wish I could."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No, I get that. But I'm sure they have a reason." Isabel sighed, leaned over and slipped an arm around Jack's waist. "He's going to be okay."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

For just a second, Jack leaned into her, closing his eyes. "I hope so," he said quietly. "I really, really hope so." Opening his eyes, reaching for another spoonful of ice cream, he smiled at her. "Maybe we can get him some ice cream?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel was pretty certain there was more going on then Jack was telling her, but she let it slide for now. "He's got friends here. We'll look out for him." Giving Jack a small smile, she took her own spoonful of ice cream. "Not just ice cream. I think we need a sundae party."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Now that's a good idea. Get him somewhere with a bunch of people and get him buzzed on sugar. It's bound to help. I'd take him drinking, but somehow I don't see that as being his thing."

Jack stuck his spoon in the ice cream, and reached for her hand. "I know you're not doing it for me, but thank you for being there for him. Because when it comes to providing emotional support, I'm not sure I'm the best person for the job. Not had a lot of practice."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia ran by outside.

"Wooooooooo!"