fic: Time Stood Still
Aug. 2nd, 2022 01:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonnefoisTitle: Time Stood Still (four)
Series: TF2
Character/pairing: Scoutpauling
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 3,534 / 16k total for fic.
Summary: Miss Pauling get an unexpected vacation when Medic and Engineer's experiment makes it so that time is frozen, and only Scout and her were spared the effects. Together, they finally get in a few dates as they try and fix time and save the world.
Author's note:
Still for Sarah.
First up: Sabotage machinery like she was a spy. She grabbed one of Spy's little doohickies. (Yes, according to Engie, that was the 'official name.') She had to hope that it would finish in time, and the quantum shift wouldn't hurt it.
And if not, what then? Would the her of the past even remember anything that happened? Would she be caught in a loop of trying to get her past self?
That was a question that would have to be answered later. Hopefully her past self could find the answers.
She paused. Maybe there was some way to guide her past self. She looked at the diagrams again. A note on the margin caught her eye..
To prevent a time loop where we doom the world and don't get ice cream: write that shit down in this here notebook.
Perfect.
She started to write.
If you're reading this, I've already made it to the past. So, dear past me, here's what happened:
Engie and Medic were complete dumbasses who almost completely doomed humanity by trying to fix ice cream machines. Scout pulled you into a metal cabinet, which meant you and him were both immune.
And while the earth was frozen, you finally got to those dates. In fact, he probably counts as your boyfriend now. And he's the sweetest, best boyfriend you've ever had. Don't fuck this up.
Hopefully you can convince Medic and Engie to get their ice cream in a way that doesn't freeze the entire world.
*
Scout returned with the cord converter. The time machine (which looked like a microwave duct taped to Soldier's robot costume) was in the middle of the Engie's labratory.
Engie had put some sort of encoded protection from whatever this freeze ray was. Maybe as a back up plan, or maybe just for fun. With Engie, who knew?
She inputted the numbers on the little buttons on the front, which beeped with every one. Before she pushed that final one, she turned to Scout.
"This is it. The only way to fix time is to prevent it from happening. So we'll have to go back in time."
"Wait..." Scout said.
"Does that mean none of this ever happened? That we're going to just go back and forget everythin' and be that again? The sorta datin' but you never have time for me thing? We'll just go back to being miserable and not together and in a sort of purgatory?"
"What's the alternative? Keeping time frozen forever? Is that what you want? To never see your family again?" Miss Pauling said.
"Aw, jeez, no. I just...wish I didn't have to choose between them and you. I want both. To be able to see you and to see my family."
"Unfortunately, we need to choose one. And I'm making the choice for you."
She smiled sadly.
"Scout, it's been fun. But we have to actually save the world from Medic and Engineer's fuck up now. We can't just...play around in a frozen world forever. What if this has some negative effect, and we accidentally doom everyone? We might be living on borrowed time already. Who knows if this has fucked up time itself, or if our bodies are disintegrating slowly in this state. As much as I'd like to stay here with you and have a lot more dates...I can't risk that," Miss Pauling said.
"Why does that sound like a goodbye?" Scout said solemnly.
"Maybe it is. We're going back in time. I might not remember all this..."
And it ached to think she wouldn't remember the way he smiled, or the feeling of his kiss, or his hand in hers. Everything that happened to them lost in seconds.
"Hey, Scout...let's pretend we're at that date, okay? The one where across from the dinner I take your hand and say 'I love you, Scout.'"
She pushed her dark hair behind her ears.
"I love you so much, Miss Pauling. I wanna remember, no matter what. This has been amazin', and really shows me you were always worth the wait."
She leaned up and kissed him. His gray eyes widened at the touch of her lips. He tightened his grip on her, and pulled her into a quick embrace. The numbers flashed on the time machine/slash microwave.
"Are you ready?"
"No, but I'll do it," Scout said.
"Hey, before we go...think we should put some burritos in that time machine?"
She laughed. "Never change, Scout."
She pressed the button. The inside lit up, and spun in a slow whir. Light filled the room, and blue electricity.
And everything changed.
*
"Medic, this probably isn't a good idea," Miss Pauling said in her best Stern Teacher Voice that did fuck all in corralling most of the men.
(Except for Scout. But she was pretty sure it just turned him on.)
"It's all good, Miss Pauling. We got this under control," Engineer drawled.
Medic laughed. "More!"
The door behind them swung open and Scout swaggered in.
"Hey, I stubbed my toe, and it hurts like a bitch, you got some ice or somethin'-- Oh hey, Miss Pauling, what are you doin' here?"
Scout tried to lean in a way he must've thought was 'cool' but just looked like he had to go to the bathroom real bad. His red shirt was stained with either ketchup, blood or both. Considering him, she couldn't tell. He tried to subtly pull his loose shirt tighter over his chest.
He failed both in stealth and actually showing off his muscles.
"Watching a disaster unfold," Miss Pauling said, her voice filled with exhaustion.
Maybe she should just let it blow up. That'd teach them. Then they'd have to rebuild their research.
Sort of like the don't touch the hot stove sometimes had to be learned with burned hands.
Except, she'd probably have to clean this mess up too.
"Huh, I'm more of a mystery Science Theater guy," Scout said.
Like he didn't have nightmares for weeks when Engie put on that showing of some sci-fi flick a ways back.
(It was kind of cute, actually. He'd fought much worse monsters, and he'd gotten nightmares over a cheap monster costume where the zipper could easily be seen. She'd liked the idea of going with him to one of those drive ins. Maybe he'd cling to her and be scared all night.)
"Uh, Pauling? M-Miss Pauling? I ain't no rocket scientist, but is it supposed to look so...explodey?"
She sighed. Medic's entire infirmary was going to be such a mess. Well, more of a mess than usual considering there was blood, bird shit and multiple OSHA violations all over the place around here.
"Knowing Medic and Engineer? Probably," Miss Pauling said.
"Ja!" Medic laughed in his best mad scientist way. "More!"
"Whoo, doggy, that's some atom collidin'. Think it'll create a reverse black hole?"
"We can only hope!"
"You know Miss Pauling like I saw somethin' like this once in a sci-fi comic and--"
"I'm a little busy right now, Scout."
Was it nuclear? Should she even be here? Hell if she knew.
"Yeah, Yeah, like I was sayin' I recognize a bad news device when I see it and--Shit, shit, shit, it's gonna blow!"
Scout grabbed her hand and all but dragged her towards the metal cabinet, full of all kinds of supplies, from gauze to what looked like body parts. They were huddled beneath the The door slammed shut. She hunched down, but a rusty edge of the shelf still dug into her shoulder. In fact, the tight proximity shoved her face against his chest.
Actually, it felt rather nice. Even with body parts and metal jutting into them. He smelled like burgers and sweat. So it was ketchup all over his shirt.
Damn, she could go for a burger. She and Scout should go out for one sometime. Except she never had time off from work, even for lunch.
She'd just have to put it on for later.
Except, now was not the time to think about this. Medic and Engineer were fucking up something, and this seven minutes in heaven was about to turn into seven minutes in hell real quick when the explosion got to them.
Except, the explosion never came. The blue glow powered down to little more than a little gasp and sparks as the doohickie did its work.
"Ach, Nein!"
"What a let down. And after all that work, too."
"Smells like a spy in here. Leave it to that varmint to ruin my plans."
"Let's go have a talk with him, hmm?"
Scout dared to push the storage door open. But, the good(?) doctor and Engineer hadn't left yet.
"What are you lovebirds doing in my cabinet? Shoo! Shoo! Find some other place to canoodle!"
Scout snickered. "Canoodle, oh my God."
"I thought for sure it was gonna blow!"
"Thanks, Scout for that."
"Oh, no prob, no prob. Glad to 'Canoodle' with you in Medic's cabinet any time."
He winked.
"Even for real."
And here it was. The song and dance of flirting and wishing and wanting. And it wouldn't turn into anything. Sure, he was cute. But she worked 364 days a year. There was no way she had any room for romance.
I really, really, really, really--followed by a whole bunch of a reallys--like you.
It was like there was static in her head. Like she could see the beginning of a picture but the signal went away. She shook her head. The picture disappeared.
"Oh, anytime, Miss Pauling."
More static, until she could barely even think.
"I have work to do," she said, before he could go on about things she didn't have time for.
*
Medic and Engineer were too useful to ever get anything more than a slap on the wrist. And besides, it'd all been okay in the end. Whatever their contraption had been, it exploded in their face. Literally.
While she was working she caught sight of a postcard.
I should get that for Scout. He'd get a kick out of that. Like that time we...
We what?
Technically, she and Scout had been working on a date for a long time. It'd been rescheduled so many times, because of work. Scout was patient, but she didn't really have faith that she'd ever get enough time.
It the heat of the moment, in the quite literally belly of the (bread) beast, it'd been easy to make promises. But, the Administrator wanted her working constantly. And she couldn't just keep stringing him along.
Scout would be fine. He'd go back to chasing any breathing woman, and she'd go back to work.
Maybe there was some side effect of that James Bond villain machine Engineer and Medic were doing after all.
*
She worked. She saw Scout occasionally. Sometimes she'd feel strange, like she was missing something. She checked over her schedules over and over and there wasn't a single missed appointment or job.
No, she had everything under control, just like always.
(Well, usually. Sometimes. Soldier and Demoman when he was drunk made things complicated.)
*
Scout nearly jumped up the stairs in his rush to see her. She leaned back as he nearly crash landed, and grabbed the doorway to steady himself.
He caught himself, and struck a pose like it'd been his plan all along.
It wasn't anything new. Scout would gravitate towards her like a heat seeking missile if he had a chance.
And somehow, their very busy schedules had converged.
Probably because she'd been groggy all day. There'd be hell to pay for this.
"Hey, Miss Pauling!"
Scout jogged up to her. He hung around, hoping to catch a few spare seconds with her between work. It was rather sweet--and it always ended with her saying I have work to do a minute later.
This time, Scout held out a water bottle.
"It sure is hot, isn't it, Miss Pauling?"
She tilted her head. It was like deja vu. Except, they'd been in a hotel room.
Wait, when had Scout and her ever been in a hotel room?
She shook her head.
Lately, she kept remembering things that never happened. Maybe she was suffering from radiation exposure. She might want to check her iodine pills just in case.
Note to self: get Scout iodine pills.
Had that been an order? Maybe she was drinking too much if her memory was this unstable.
That night, she went over the tapes. Not a hint of the memories. She recognized all this. The same fights, both on and off the battlefield.
*
She woke up and remembered: His lips on her lips.
She remembered something that never happened. In the groggy half moment, the static ceased just for a moment and she could see a date. The empty bar and frozen patrons and only the sound of their voice.
Frozen patrons? The absence of sound? A world still all around them, and all the while they'd had dates and a whole lot of fantastic sex.
What kind of dream was this? And did that mean she'd been having sex dreams about Scout? He would be thrilled.
Of course, she didn't see it working out. He was her coworker, and she was just too busy to date. She'd been running on adrenaline in the body of the bread monster together when she agreed. And, yes, he was a great help in burying bodies. It was nice how he always made sure she remembered to eat.
She got up and reached for the coffee right away.
Strange, she always forgot her dreams. But this one remained.
*
It all started in Medic's infirmary.
Medic strictly was not to implant anything in her, though the Administrator hadn't minded him experimenting on his teammates and the disposable mooks she was always having to bury in the desert after they outlasted their usefulness.
Medic's labratory. There'd been some kind a machine.
That was right, some machine Engie and Medic had been working on together. Then Scout had pulled her into a cabinet.
And that was all. The machine wound down, Scout had been flirty and she went back to work. Because that was her life. She worked, she drank, she passed out asleep for a few hours if she was lucky and it started again.
But, she remembered:
His hand in hers. The lights of a fair. A kiss. It'd never happened, but she remembered it.
Medic was nowhere to be seen. Archimedes was perched up in the rafters and considered her as he cooed.
Scout jogged up behind her.
"Are you hurt, Miss Pauling? I got a paper cut and was gonna ask doc for a bandage, but he'd nowhere around," Scout said.
"Honestly, if I gave you a paper cut, I would've felt awful!"
"I think a wizard did it," she said.
"Naturally--what was it though? Did a wizard drink the last beer in the fridge? Because I was gonna drink it. Or did that wizard take Medic away in a moving castle?"
"No, the one who drank all the beer was Demoman, not his former wizard master," Miss Pauling said, like it should be obvious.
"Oh, shoulda known. Anyways, are you free this weekend, Miss Pauling?"
Of course she wasn't free this weekend. Because she didn't get weekends.
"Hmm? I was lost in thought."
"Somethin' the matter? You just...spaced out there for a moment."
"I keep remembering things. Things that never happened," she said.
"Isn't that a daydream?" Scout said.
"No," she said.
"Maybe just remembering a dream? I'm having a lot of dreams," Scout said. "You're in a lot of them, too. Doin' stuff like savin' the world and bein' a hero."
"So I was clothed in one for once?" Miss Pauling said dryly.
"What? I, um. I-I plead the fifth?"
It took her back to old times. When she'd drilled Scout to just plead the fifth! Don't say anything on the stand. They can't make you speak! It's in the constitution.
"Here, I'll take care of it," she said.
She opened up the cabinet, and she was filled with memories again of how she'd leaned against Scout as that damn machine went off. She pulled out some bandages with sparkly pink princesses all over them. There were no others, and the first aid kit had ancient runes and bird feathers.
"This was the only one you had?" Scout said skeptically.
"If anyone sees me in this, they'll never stop teasin' me."
"It's the only one. I think Medic's being passive aggressive again."
She poured some peroxide on his finger, and dried it with the cleanest and least bloodstained towel. Scout only flinched a little.
She took his much larger hand in hers, and gently began to apply the band-aid. His gaze was so soft on her.
"You're a lifesaver, Miss Pauling. I could've gotten infected, I could've died if not for you," he gushed.
She couldn't help but smile. Scout was as enthusiastic and prone to tall tales as ever.
"It was nothing, really," she said
*
"Miss Pauling, someone put a notebook in this microwave."
Soldier's voice was booming.
"Soldier, that's not a notebook, that's a time machine."
"Perfect," Soldier said. He started to put in some date in the 40s.
"Soldier, no," she said.
"But, Miss Pauling, punching Hitler!"
"We've already done enough damage to the space-time continuum. We can punch Hitler later," Miss Pauling said in her best Kindergarten teacher voice."
"Okay," Soldier said sullenly.
"Soldier, if it makes you feel better, there's a Neo Nazi group a few miles away from here which has been causing trouble. Next time you get a day off, you can go there and punch them all you want."
His blue eyes flashed with violence.
"Must...punch....Nazis!"
Why wait? Technically the games were over for the day. Yes, there'd probably be a mess to clean up, but punching Nazis made him so happy, she could bury the bodies later.
"Here's the directions, Soldier. Now, go do our country proud," she said.
"Understood, General Miss Pauling!"
He aimed his massive rocket launcher which was held together just by
She put her hands on her hips. "No rocket jumping in the house."
"Sorry, General Miss Pauling."
He marched out the door instead.
She opened up the microwave thing, and pulled out the notebook.
She flipped it open and began to read. Wait, this was her handwriting.
She had to remind Engie to keep his time machine.
She blinked. How had she known that this was Engie's time machine? It did look just like a microwave.
"Just imagine, I'd nuke my burrito and accidentally end up in 1942," she said to herself.
She read over the notebook. At first slowly, then with more urgency.
When she came to the last word, she looked up at the time machine.
It finally fit.
*
Scout tossed a ball up in the air and caught it. He tossed it again, and did a double take as he noticed her coming his way. Her pulse rose. The memories that weren't memories and never happened were starting to make sense.
They had happened. Hundreds of kisses and his hand in hers. A trip to the fair, and all those dates they hadn't gotten around to.
"H-Hey, Miss Pauling!" He swallowed. "You surprised me."
"I think we saved the world...but lost us. And, I want us back."
"You mean the dreams? I keep tripping into them. Having to remind myself we never did that, except in my dreams. It hurts, kinda," Scout said. He gave her a pained look.
"We did. But we rewound time to save the world," Miss Pauling said.
"So, that means it's all just...lost? There's no way to get it all back?" Scout said sadly.
"We seem to be regaining our memories. I guess that means it happened, even if that future never exists now."
She leaned up and cupped his face to kiss him. It always worked in the fairy tales.
He didn't turn into a prince, and the only magic was the tingle and warmth of his lips against hers. She pulled him close and remembered the static lights of the fair, the fried chicken, the alcohol and the dates. All at once the remaining memories filled her, until it was almost overwhelming.
He dropped his baseball and let it roll away. Scout's face was full of such wonder as she pulled back from the kiss.
"There's somethin' I been meanin' to ask you. Miss Pauling, there's a fair in town. You want to go with me to it?"
"I'll figure out a way, one way or another," she said.
This time, it wouldn't take an apocalypse to get her on a date.
Series: TF2
Character/pairing: Scoutpauling
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 3,534 / 16k total for fic.
Summary: Miss Pauling get an unexpected vacation when Medic and Engineer's experiment makes it so that time is frozen, and only Scout and her were spared the effects. Together, they finally get in a few dates as they try and fix time and save the world.
Author's note:
Still for Sarah.
First up: Sabotage machinery like she was a spy. She grabbed one of Spy's little doohickies. (Yes, according to Engie, that was the 'official name.') She had to hope that it would finish in time, and the quantum shift wouldn't hurt it.
And if not, what then? Would the her of the past even remember anything that happened? Would she be caught in a loop of trying to get her past self?
That was a question that would have to be answered later. Hopefully her past self could find the answers.
She paused. Maybe there was some way to guide her past self. She looked at the diagrams again. A note on the margin caught her eye..
To prevent a time loop where we doom the world and don't get ice cream: write that shit down in this here notebook.
Perfect.
She started to write.
If you're reading this, I've already made it to the past. So, dear past me, here's what happened:
Engie and Medic were complete dumbasses who almost completely doomed humanity by trying to fix ice cream machines. Scout pulled you into a metal cabinet, which meant you and him were both immune.
And while the earth was frozen, you finally got to those dates. In fact, he probably counts as your boyfriend now. And he's the sweetest, best boyfriend you've ever had. Don't fuck this up.
Hopefully you can convince Medic and Engie to get their ice cream in a way that doesn't freeze the entire world.
*
Scout returned with the cord converter. The time machine (which looked like a microwave duct taped to Soldier's robot costume) was in the middle of the Engie's labratory.
Engie had put some sort of encoded protection from whatever this freeze ray was. Maybe as a back up plan, or maybe just for fun. With Engie, who knew?
She inputted the numbers on the little buttons on the front, which beeped with every one. Before she pushed that final one, she turned to Scout.
"This is it. The only way to fix time is to prevent it from happening. So we'll have to go back in time."
"Wait..." Scout said.
"Does that mean none of this ever happened? That we're going to just go back and forget everythin' and be that again? The sorta datin' but you never have time for me thing? We'll just go back to being miserable and not together and in a sort of purgatory?"
"What's the alternative? Keeping time frozen forever? Is that what you want? To never see your family again?" Miss Pauling said.
"Aw, jeez, no. I just...wish I didn't have to choose between them and you. I want both. To be able to see you and to see my family."
"Unfortunately, we need to choose one. And I'm making the choice for you."
She smiled sadly.
"Scout, it's been fun. But we have to actually save the world from Medic and Engineer's fuck up now. We can't just...play around in a frozen world forever. What if this has some negative effect, and we accidentally doom everyone? We might be living on borrowed time already. Who knows if this has fucked up time itself, or if our bodies are disintegrating slowly in this state. As much as I'd like to stay here with you and have a lot more dates...I can't risk that," Miss Pauling said.
"Why does that sound like a goodbye?" Scout said solemnly.
"Maybe it is. We're going back in time. I might not remember all this..."
And it ached to think she wouldn't remember the way he smiled, or the feeling of his kiss, or his hand in hers. Everything that happened to them lost in seconds.
"Hey, Scout...let's pretend we're at that date, okay? The one where across from the dinner I take your hand and say 'I love you, Scout.'"
She pushed her dark hair behind her ears.
"I love you so much, Miss Pauling. I wanna remember, no matter what. This has been amazin', and really shows me you were always worth the wait."
She leaned up and kissed him. His gray eyes widened at the touch of her lips. He tightened his grip on her, and pulled her into a quick embrace. The numbers flashed on the time machine/slash microwave.
"Are you ready?"
"No, but I'll do it," Scout said.
"Hey, before we go...think we should put some burritos in that time machine?"
She laughed. "Never change, Scout."
She pressed the button. The inside lit up, and spun in a slow whir. Light filled the room, and blue electricity.
And everything changed.
*
"Medic, this probably isn't a good idea," Miss Pauling said in her best Stern Teacher Voice that did fuck all in corralling most of the men.
(Except for Scout. But she was pretty sure it just turned him on.)
"It's all good, Miss Pauling. We got this under control," Engineer drawled.
Medic laughed. "More!"
The door behind them swung open and Scout swaggered in.
"Hey, I stubbed my toe, and it hurts like a bitch, you got some ice or somethin'-- Oh hey, Miss Pauling, what are you doin' here?"
Scout tried to lean in a way he must've thought was 'cool' but just looked like he had to go to the bathroom real bad. His red shirt was stained with either ketchup, blood or both. Considering him, she couldn't tell. He tried to subtly pull his loose shirt tighter over his chest.
He failed both in stealth and actually showing off his muscles.
"Watching a disaster unfold," Miss Pauling said, her voice filled with exhaustion.
Maybe she should just let it blow up. That'd teach them. Then they'd have to rebuild their research.
Sort of like the don't touch the hot stove sometimes had to be learned with burned hands.
Except, she'd probably have to clean this mess up too.
"Huh, I'm more of a mystery Science Theater guy," Scout said.
Like he didn't have nightmares for weeks when Engie put on that showing of some sci-fi flick a ways back.
(It was kind of cute, actually. He'd fought much worse monsters, and he'd gotten nightmares over a cheap monster costume where the zipper could easily be seen. She'd liked the idea of going with him to one of those drive ins. Maybe he'd cling to her and be scared all night.)
"Uh, Pauling? M-Miss Pauling? I ain't no rocket scientist, but is it supposed to look so...explodey?"
She sighed. Medic's entire infirmary was going to be such a mess. Well, more of a mess than usual considering there was blood, bird shit and multiple OSHA violations all over the place around here.
"Knowing Medic and Engineer? Probably," Miss Pauling said.
"Ja!" Medic laughed in his best mad scientist way. "More!"
"Whoo, doggy, that's some atom collidin'. Think it'll create a reverse black hole?"
"We can only hope!"
"You know Miss Pauling like I saw somethin' like this once in a sci-fi comic and--"
"I'm a little busy right now, Scout."
Was it nuclear? Should she even be here? Hell if she knew.
"Yeah, Yeah, like I was sayin' I recognize a bad news device when I see it and--Shit, shit, shit, it's gonna blow!"
Scout grabbed her hand and all but dragged her towards the metal cabinet, full of all kinds of supplies, from gauze to what looked like body parts. They were huddled beneath the The door slammed shut. She hunched down, but a rusty edge of the shelf still dug into her shoulder. In fact, the tight proximity shoved her face against his chest.
Actually, it felt rather nice. Even with body parts and metal jutting into them. He smelled like burgers and sweat. So it was ketchup all over his shirt.
Damn, she could go for a burger. She and Scout should go out for one sometime. Except she never had time off from work, even for lunch.
She'd just have to put it on for later.
Except, now was not the time to think about this. Medic and Engineer were fucking up something, and this seven minutes in heaven was about to turn into seven minutes in hell real quick when the explosion got to them.
Except, the explosion never came. The blue glow powered down to little more than a little gasp and sparks as the doohickie did its work.
"Ach, Nein!"
"What a let down. And after all that work, too."
"Smells like a spy in here. Leave it to that varmint to ruin my plans."
"Let's go have a talk with him, hmm?"
Scout dared to push the storage door open. But, the good(?) doctor and Engineer hadn't left yet.
"What are you lovebirds doing in my cabinet? Shoo! Shoo! Find some other place to canoodle!"
Scout snickered. "Canoodle, oh my God."
"I thought for sure it was gonna blow!"
"Thanks, Scout for that."
"Oh, no prob, no prob. Glad to 'Canoodle' with you in Medic's cabinet any time."
He winked.
"Even for real."
And here it was. The song and dance of flirting and wishing and wanting. And it wouldn't turn into anything. Sure, he was cute. But she worked 364 days a year. There was no way she had any room for romance.
I really, really, really, really--followed by a whole bunch of a reallys--like you.
It was like there was static in her head. Like she could see the beginning of a picture but the signal went away. She shook her head. The picture disappeared.
"Oh, anytime, Miss Pauling."
More static, until she could barely even think.
"I have work to do," she said, before he could go on about things she didn't have time for.
*
Medic and Engineer were too useful to ever get anything more than a slap on the wrist. And besides, it'd all been okay in the end. Whatever their contraption had been, it exploded in their face. Literally.
While she was working she caught sight of a postcard.
I should get that for Scout. He'd get a kick out of that. Like that time we...
We what?
Technically, she and Scout had been working on a date for a long time. It'd been rescheduled so many times, because of work. Scout was patient, but she didn't really have faith that she'd ever get enough time.
It the heat of the moment, in the quite literally belly of the (bread) beast, it'd been easy to make promises. But, the Administrator wanted her working constantly. And she couldn't just keep stringing him along.
Scout would be fine. He'd go back to chasing any breathing woman, and she'd go back to work.
Maybe there was some side effect of that James Bond villain machine Engineer and Medic were doing after all.
*
She worked. She saw Scout occasionally. Sometimes she'd feel strange, like she was missing something. She checked over her schedules over and over and there wasn't a single missed appointment or job.
No, she had everything under control, just like always.
(Well, usually. Sometimes. Soldier and Demoman when he was drunk made things complicated.)
*
Scout nearly jumped up the stairs in his rush to see her. She leaned back as he nearly crash landed, and grabbed the doorway to steady himself.
He caught himself, and struck a pose like it'd been his plan all along.
It wasn't anything new. Scout would gravitate towards her like a heat seeking missile if he had a chance.
And somehow, their very busy schedules had converged.
Probably because she'd been groggy all day. There'd be hell to pay for this.
"Hey, Miss Pauling!"
Scout jogged up to her. He hung around, hoping to catch a few spare seconds with her between work. It was rather sweet--and it always ended with her saying I have work to do a minute later.
This time, Scout held out a water bottle.
"It sure is hot, isn't it, Miss Pauling?"
She tilted her head. It was like deja vu. Except, they'd been in a hotel room.
Wait, when had Scout and her ever been in a hotel room?
She shook her head.
Lately, she kept remembering things that never happened. Maybe she was suffering from radiation exposure. She might want to check her iodine pills just in case.
Note to self: get Scout iodine pills.
Had that been an order? Maybe she was drinking too much if her memory was this unstable.
That night, she went over the tapes. Not a hint of the memories. She recognized all this. The same fights, both on and off the battlefield.
*
She woke up and remembered: His lips on her lips.
She remembered something that never happened. In the groggy half moment, the static ceased just for a moment and she could see a date. The empty bar and frozen patrons and only the sound of their voice.
Frozen patrons? The absence of sound? A world still all around them, and all the while they'd had dates and a whole lot of fantastic sex.
What kind of dream was this? And did that mean she'd been having sex dreams about Scout? He would be thrilled.
Of course, she didn't see it working out. He was her coworker, and she was just too busy to date. She'd been running on adrenaline in the body of the bread monster together when she agreed. And, yes, he was a great help in burying bodies. It was nice how he always made sure she remembered to eat.
She got up and reached for the coffee right away.
Strange, she always forgot her dreams. But this one remained.
*
It all started in Medic's infirmary.
Medic strictly was not to implant anything in her, though the Administrator hadn't minded him experimenting on his teammates and the disposable mooks she was always having to bury in the desert after they outlasted their usefulness.
Medic's labratory. There'd been some kind a machine.
That was right, some machine Engie and Medic had been working on together. Then Scout had pulled her into a cabinet.
And that was all. The machine wound down, Scout had been flirty and she went back to work. Because that was her life. She worked, she drank, she passed out asleep for a few hours if she was lucky and it started again.
But, she remembered:
His hand in hers. The lights of a fair. A kiss. It'd never happened, but she remembered it.
Medic was nowhere to be seen. Archimedes was perched up in the rafters and considered her as he cooed.
Scout jogged up behind her.
"Are you hurt, Miss Pauling? I got a paper cut and was gonna ask doc for a bandage, but he'd nowhere around," Scout said.
"Honestly, if I gave you a paper cut, I would've felt awful!"
"I think a wizard did it," she said.
"Naturally--what was it though? Did a wizard drink the last beer in the fridge? Because I was gonna drink it. Or did that wizard take Medic away in a moving castle?"
"No, the one who drank all the beer was Demoman, not his former wizard master," Miss Pauling said, like it should be obvious.
"Oh, shoulda known. Anyways, are you free this weekend, Miss Pauling?"
Of course she wasn't free this weekend. Because she didn't get weekends.
"Hmm? I was lost in thought."
"Somethin' the matter? You just...spaced out there for a moment."
"I keep remembering things. Things that never happened," she said.
"Isn't that a daydream?" Scout said.
"No," she said.
"Maybe just remembering a dream? I'm having a lot of dreams," Scout said. "You're in a lot of them, too. Doin' stuff like savin' the world and bein' a hero."
"So I was clothed in one for once?" Miss Pauling said dryly.
"What? I, um. I-I plead the fifth?"
It took her back to old times. When she'd drilled Scout to just plead the fifth! Don't say anything on the stand. They can't make you speak! It's in the constitution.
"Here, I'll take care of it," she said.
She opened up the cabinet, and she was filled with memories again of how she'd leaned against Scout as that damn machine went off. She pulled out some bandages with sparkly pink princesses all over them. There were no others, and the first aid kit had ancient runes and bird feathers.
"This was the only one you had?" Scout said skeptically.
"If anyone sees me in this, they'll never stop teasin' me."
"It's the only one. I think Medic's being passive aggressive again."
She poured some peroxide on his finger, and dried it with the cleanest and least bloodstained towel. Scout only flinched a little.
She took his much larger hand in hers, and gently began to apply the band-aid. His gaze was so soft on her.
"You're a lifesaver, Miss Pauling. I could've gotten infected, I could've died if not for you," he gushed.
She couldn't help but smile. Scout was as enthusiastic and prone to tall tales as ever.
"It was nothing, really," she said
*
"Miss Pauling, someone put a notebook in this microwave."
Soldier's voice was booming.
"Soldier, that's not a notebook, that's a time machine."
"Perfect," Soldier said. He started to put in some date in the 40s.
"Soldier, no," she said.
"But, Miss Pauling, punching Hitler!"
"We've already done enough damage to the space-time continuum. We can punch Hitler later," Miss Pauling said in her best Kindergarten teacher voice."
"Okay," Soldier said sullenly.
"Soldier, if it makes you feel better, there's a Neo Nazi group a few miles away from here which has been causing trouble. Next time you get a day off, you can go there and punch them all you want."
His blue eyes flashed with violence.
"Must...punch....Nazis!"
Why wait? Technically the games were over for the day. Yes, there'd probably be a mess to clean up, but punching Nazis made him so happy, she could bury the bodies later.
"Here's the directions, Soldier. Now, go do our country proud," she said.
"Understood, General Miss Pauling!"
He aimed his massive rocket launcher which was held together just by
She put her hands on her hips. "No rocket jumping in the house."
"Sorry, General Miss Pauling."
He marched out the door instead.
She opened up the microwave thing, and pulled out the notebook.
She flipped it open and began to read. Wait, this was her handwriting.
She had to remind Engie to keep his time machine.
She blinked. How had she known that this was Engie's time machine? It did look just like a microwave.
"Just imagine, I'd nuke my burrito and accidentally end up in 1942," she said to herself.
She read over the notebook. At first slowly, then with more urgency.
When she came to the last word, she looked up at the time machine.
It finally fit.
*
Scout tossed a ball up in the air and caught it. He tossed it again, and did a double take as he noticed her coming his way. Her pulse rose. The memories that weren't memories and never happened were starting to make sense.
They had happened. Hundreds of kisses and his hand in hers. A trip to the fair, and all those dates they hadn't gotten around to.
"H-Hey, Miss Pauling!" He swallowed. "You surprised me."
"I think we saved the world...but lost us. And, I want us back."
"You mean the dreams? I keep tripping into them. Having to remind myself we never did that, except in my dreams. It hurts, kinda," Scout said. He gave her a pained look.
"We did. But we rewound time to save the world," Miss Pauling said.
"So, that means it's all just...lost? There's no way to get it all back?" Scout said sadly.
"We seem to be regaining our memories. I guess that means it happened, even if that future never exists now."
She leaned up and cupped his face to kiss him. It always worked in the fairy tales.
He didn't turn into a prince, and the only magic was the tingle and warmth of his lips against hers. She pulled him close and remembered the static lights of the fair, the fried chicken, the alcohol and the dates. All at once the remaining memories filled her, until it was almost overwhelming.
He dropped his baseball and let it roll away. Scout's face was full of such wonder as she pulled back from the kiss.
"There's somethin' I been meanin' to ask you. Miss Pauling, there's a fair in town. You want to go with me to it?"
"I'll figure out a way, one way or another," she said.
This time, it wouldn't take an apocalypse to get her on a date.
