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To be clear, Scott had always known about the system. He’d never known Jean before the split, so it was just her natural state of being. Things had gotten much more complex with the addition of the newest alter…was it an alter or just what remained of Madelyne? He didn’t know. But he knew Jean, and he knew little Jeanie, and he knew the alter that firmly believed they still were the Phoenix force. So he could probably figure out Madelyne,with enough time.
He kept meaning to ask about it… but they’d been having a pretty calm time around the mansion,for once,so he figured he would wait. Might as well let everyone enjoy the calm for a while.
Scott trailed into their shared personal quarters,carrying a basket of laundry. Their tiny collection of 3 rooms,a nice private sanctuary, was really very little more than a large bedroom. There was the bathroom and the sitting room-which had been intended for Nathan’s nursery,actually- but they hardly counted them as rooms. They were so rarely used.
“Hey,Jean, I washed that dress you were worried about,can you come double check it please?”Scott said.
When Jean didn’t respond,Scott sat the basket on their bed and peeked his head into the sitting room.
He found Jean sitting on the floor,in a purple sweater, digging through a milk crate of records. A little cabbage patch doll with bright yellow hair sat next to her. Scott looked around,and did notice that the little drawer they kept stuff for the child alter had been left open.
“Kiddo?” Scott asked carefully. He was generally pretty good at telling the difference between Jean and Jeanie,but it wasn’t ever a bad idea to double check.
“Hi,mister Scott,” came the reply,and the higher pitch revealed that his guess was correct.
“Hi,Jeanie. What are we listening to today?” He said,settling down next to her on the floor.
“We are listening too…Fleetwood Mac if i can find it” She grumbled. She handed her Cabbage Patch dolly to Scott. “Hold the Minnie,” Jeannie said stubbornly.
Scott took the doll and rocked it like it was a baby. Jeanie deeply enjoyed it when people treated Minnie like a real baby. “Fleetwood Mac is good,” Scott said. Scott didn’t listen to a ton of music,it could get stressing or overwhelming sometimes. But Fleetwood Mac is good,Scott knew the songs well enough that he wasn’t overwhelmed.
“Very good. I like…um…I like Everywhere” Jeannie mumbled. “But I don't know if we have that one…”
“We got it on cassette.” Scott mumbled.
“Well I don’t like the tapes” Jeanie grumbled. She gave up on the hunt for Fleetwood Mac,and swapped it out for some movie soundtrack. It was one she’d never seen,but she knew it had good songs,so she let it play.
“Right. Want your baby back?” Scott said,holding Minnie out.
“Yes!” Jeanie giggled. She took the doll back,and settled into a big plush chair. She hummed along to the music,wiggling the doll around in a way that looked like dancing.
“Are you having a good day?” Scott asked from his spot,still on the floor. He always worried about that particular question when it came to Jeannie. She didn’t front often,which was…understandable. After all,she was very high-emotion, and apparently that was a lot to maintain. But still,it was better if she was here on a good day,instead of on a bad one.
“Mm. It’s okay. I want um…I wanted to ask Warren if he wanted to do scrapbooks with me,but he was not in his room. His room was empty….” a look of confusion crossed her face. “Why? Is he okay? Is he on vacation?”
Scott grimaced,and stared down at the floor. He didn’t like lying to Jeanie,but how could he explain all the things that had happened since the last time she played with their friend. “He’s…he needed a little break,” Scott said,” y’know,us older kids,sometimes…sometimes we gotta go figure things out before we’re too grown-up to. Make sense?”
Jeanie shrugged. “ Not a lot. But as long as he isn’t hurt. I really don’t like when my friends get hurt and don’t tell me, "she said. She left her chair for her toybox,and then went to swap her doll into tiny little doll pajamas.
“When Minnie goes to sleep,can we go get milkshakes?”Jeanie asked.
Scott sighed and stretched. “Um…we’ll see.” He said. He laid down,spread out across the floor. It felt a little bit better than sitting with his back against the coffee table. “It’s getting dark,so we’d have to drive. And I know you don’t like cars much.”
“I can do it,” Jeanie said. Scott gave her a questioning look. When Jeanie saw,she rolled her eyes. “Trust me,I can. Me and Maddie have been working on um…I don’t remember what word she used,but like…it is special words to keep calm” she explained.
“Okay. We’ll try it,” Scott said. He felt uneasy. The last time he took Jeanie on a trip in a car had been about a year ago,and it absolutely had not gone well. “But you tell me the second it gets too scary,okay?” He said. He got up out of the floor and went to put his jacket on.
Jeanie followed behind him,carrying Minnie. She disappeared into their closet,and reemerged in a pair of scuffed sneakers and sporting a hoodie that definitely came from Scott’s side of the closet.
“Kid,you gotta start asking first,”Scott said,though there was no heat in his voice. He knew that she didn’t have a lot of her own clothes. Most of the women’s clothes in the closet were more to Jean’s taste,and that was a little tighter than Jeanie really liked.
“I’ll ask if you buy me those Raggedy Ann pajamas” Jeanie insisted stubbornly.
Scott rolled his eyes. Jeanie asked for those every time she fronted,and Scott didn’t have the heart to tell her that they were considered vintage now and probably wouldn’t fit her anyway. “Yeah,yeah,maybe for Christmas. Ready to go?”
The pair sat in one of the cars borrowed from the mansion’s garage. Jeanie didn’t want to sit in the backseat,and honestly,Scott preferred that. He could keep an eye on her better.
He was so stressed about whether or not the car ride would scare her,but she seemed fine. In fact,she seemed pretty happy. Jeanie sat on her side of the car, singing along to the radio or pointing out the really cool outfits of people on the sidewalk, or rocking her doll in her arms.
They eventually arrived at the Sonic in town.
“You wanna order?” Scott offered.
“No. But can I press the button?” Jeanie asked.
Scott nodded,and Jeanie leaned over to push the red button on the intercom. Then she went back to her spot in the passenger seat. Scott ordered her usual, a strawberry milkshake and onion rings, and he got himself a cola.
Jeanie kept crawling all over the passenger seat,somehow finding about 50 different positions to sit in. Scott wanted to tell her to stop, but he figured anything that kept her regulated was good.
When they were brought their food, Jeanie immediately sat still.
“Do I have to say grace first?” She asked.
“Nah.” Scott said with a laugh. “That’s only for when you eat at a table,I think.”
Jeanie nodded and began eating her onion rings. She finished them before they were even halfway down the road,and then worked on her milkshake. The sun was going down now,but she kept watching out the window and singing and talking. That was a good sign.
Scott liked when Jeanie was calm enough to take on trips. Sure,he preferred to eat dinner with his wife,obviously, but Jeanie’s existence was kinda just a fact. And when she was around,it was good to get her out of the mansion. After all,most of their friends didn’t live there anymore and that confused her.
The pair rode on,but the car became quieter and quieter. Scott glanced over,finding Jeanie more curled in on herself. She gripped the Cabbage Patch doll so hard her knuckles turned white. The strawberry milkshake was forgotten in the cup holder.
“Hey,Jeanie, are you alright?” Scott asked. Jeanie didn’t say anything,just shook her head.
“Okay,okay…” Scott mumbled. “Why? What happened?”
“Wee-woo” Jeanie said quietly,her voice not sounding quite like herself,but not quite like Jean’s either.
Wee-woo?
Scott’s face scrunched up in confusion,he was trying to understand. “Wee-woo…” He mumbled,nodding. He was trying to help her,but he was so confused. He glanced over and could see flashing lights by the side of the road ahead of him. At first he thought it was just a tow truck or something,since he couldn’t see colors,but he could see that it was actually a cop car,the closer they got.
Oh.
“It’s okay,Jeanie. Close your eyes,yeah?” Scott mumbled. Jeanie didn’t listen,but it didn’t seem like she was really watching anyway.
“Yeah,that’s alright too…” Scott said softly.
Jeanie just…stared ahead and kept blinking weirdly. Her fingers rubbed over Minnie’s clothes, and she held the doll closely. Scott sat in the silence,occasionally mumbling out “It’s okay” and “we’re safe”,even though he could tell Jeanie wasn’t actually hearing it.
They passed the cop car,and as far as Scott could tell,it wasn’t anything serious. That was good. Eventually, Jeanie moved- well, probably not Jeanie now,but Scott hated to refer to them as “the body” just because he didn’t know who fronted.
“Ugh,what time is it?”
ah. Jean,then.
“About 8:40.” Scott responded. “We’re in the car, we just got snacks at sonic.”
“Damn…Jeanie?” Jean asked,carefully setting the Cabbage Patch doll into the back seat.
“Yeah. She got you a milkshake” Scott said as kindly as he could.
“Mm. I’m sorry.” Jean mumbled. She picked up the milkshake and took a sip,and then nodded at Jeanie’s choice.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Scott said plainly. “It’s just something that happens,right? Um,she saw a cop car on the way home,by the way. That’s what kicked her out,I think?” He was pretty confident that that was the cause. He knew he was supposed to tell Jean of any new triggers she might not know about. She kept a little list in a fancy journal in her nightstand.
“Okay. Thanks,” Jean mumbled. “Still…I don’t really like that you had to deal with her.”
“I don’t mind to do it.” Scott said. He reached over,taking Jean’s hand in a way he hoped was comforting. “She’s just…you,but smaller. It’s not that difficult to deal with.”
Jean sighed and glanced over at him. She smiled,and Scott melted a little bit. Jean had such a nice smile,and Scott loved anytime he could make her feel good.
“Well…thanks for that too.” She mumbled. She brought their intertwined hands to her lips,and left a soft kiss on the back of Scott’s hand.
“Of course” Scott said,sounding a bit flustered. “Sickness and health,or whatever”.