(Untitled)

[jill_langston]

Growing up, Jill hadn't been a particularly great student, but she'd also been one of those kids who could often be seen wandering down the sidewalk or across the playground with a book held in front of her face. She'd always loved reading and while the material had changed over the years, the book was still firmly in the place it had always been.

Comments

[flyboy_shepp]

"That was pretty damn impressive," John commented as he ambled his way up the boardwalk. He'd seen Jill going toward the edge, and had been about to call out her name before it happened. Really.

When he reached Jill, he crouched down and frowned at her leg. "Need some help?"

[jill_langston]

"Did you watch me fall?" Jill asked dryly, looking up at John as he crouched down beside her. The bottom of her foot stung slightly, but it wasn't that bad and she thought if she rested for a moment, she'd be just fine.

"I have a splinter, so unless you want to help me dig it out, I think I'll be okay," she assured him, breaking into a faint smile.

[flyboy_shepp]

"I was all set to say something when it happened," John insisted, giving Jill as sincere look as he could manage. "I swear."

He raised an eyebrow at Jill, then sat down next to her. "I think I'll pass, but I can provide moral support."

[jill_langston]

"What does moral support for splinter removing consist of?" Jill asked with a grin, leaving her foot alone for the time being. Nudging John gently with her elbow, she tipped her head to the side, studying him. "Do you cheer me on as I dig into my own skin or do you just hold my hand in modest, supportive silence?"

[under_his_skin]

"I give the landing a six-point-five," Laura called, walking out from behind the tree she'd been leaning against, catching her breath at the end of her jog.

She smiled as she advanced toward Jill, though the smile soon gave way to a concerned frown. "Hey, splinter. God, I hate those things."

[jill_langston]

"Considering the splinter, don't you think I deserve at least an eight for that landing?" Jill asked, sounding as amused as she could with a splinter in her foot. It figured that someone had to see her fall, but at least it was Laura. Considering Jill had woken up naked in the same bed as the other woman, a fall wasn't the worst thing she could have seen Jill do.

[under_his_skin]

"Hmmmm." Tilting her head to the side, Laura pretended to mull that one over. "I can bump you up to a seven, but the eight's a no-go. Bodily fluids made the scores do a nosedive, sister."

Laughing a little, Laura huffed and then sat down beside her. "Guess that'll learn ya to keep your nose out of books while you're walking, right?"

[jill_langston]

"Probably not," Jill answered with a grin, touching her foot gently and then wincing faintly. "Once, when I was twelve, I walked onto a playground at school and was kicked in the face by a kid on a swing. If that didn't teach me, this won't. That landing wouldn't have impressed you at all. I landed flat on my back."

[sgmitchell]

For a moment or two, Cameron was genuinely concerned that Austen had gotten herself lost--some time after she'd pelted off of the boardwalk, and he'd been forced to chase her through brush. It was only Austen's might kitten yowl that pointed her out to him before she burst once more from the brush.

Rather than charge at or directly away from him as she tended to, she chose instead to charge at the woman sitting on the edge of the boardwalk a little ways ahead of where he stood. He'd been too engrossed in searching for Austen to pay much attention to anyone else on the boardwalk. For maybe half a moment, he had the terrible idea that Austen was about to pounce Morgan.

The concerned drained back to annoyance once he realized it was only Jill. "Austen! You're gettin' a leash, Girl!"

[jill_langston]

Jill twisted at the sound of Cameron's voice, surprised to see a cat running toward her on the boardwalk. She liked cats, liked them better than dogs, which was probably made clear by the lynx who spent most of his time at Jill's side.

"Hey," she said as the kitten skidded into her and she rubbed her elbow against the top of its head, not wanting to get the blood on her fingers on its fur. "Does she belong to you?" she asked Cameron, looking up at him.

[sgmitchell]

Austen looked entirely too pleased with herself.

Cam scrubbed a hand through his hair, before nodding, watching the kitten warily. If he knew Austen, she'd bolt once again as soon as she was done investigating and soaking up attention.

"Yeah. Although you might get a different answer if you ask her."

[jill_langston]

"Probably, considering I expect she speaks very little English," Jill agreed, giving the kitten one last rub with her elbow before she continued to wipe the blood off the sole of her foot. "I've never seen her before. Was she one of those presents we all seem to get every year?"

[unit_girl]

Jo knew the woman, having seen her in the lab, but even if she hadn't she still would have rushed over. "Are you all right?" she asked, crouching down and reaching over to pick up the book.

[jill_langston]

It would have been less embarrassing for someone she knew to have seen, Jill thought, but she nodded, flashing a self-conscious grin at the woman. "Yeah, I just need to learn to watch where I'm going when I walk," she answered. "I'm not normally quite that clumsy."

[unit_girl]

Jo smiled and handed the other woman back her book. "Oh, I am that clumsy. I just usually knock other things over. And usually in the lab, although I don't think I've done it here when anyone noticed." Or at least, no one had commented, which was possibly not the same thing.

[jill_langston]

Jill laughed, unable to help herself, thinking of how David would react to someone knocking things over in the lab. "I've seen you around there," she agreed, nodding. "I'm Jill Langston."

[thedescent_into]

"Jill?" Sarah calls from down the boardwalk, hurrying her steps and dropping into a crouch by the other woman. It's been a while since they've spoken. She's always had a feeling that Jill is just a little uncomfortable around her, but she's not quite the same woman she was nearly two years ago.

[jill_langston]

"Sarah," Jill said, sounding a little surprised to see the other woman. It felt like such a long time since they'd last spoken and she was pleased to see that Sarah was doing a lot better than she had been before. "It's okay, I'm fine," she assured her a moment later, giving a laugh. "I'm just clumsy."

[thedescent_into]

"Clumsy or not, you're bleeding," she says, as if that wasn't obvious, "Can you stand?"

[jill_langston]

"I can stand," Jill promised, getting both her legs under her body and doing just that. Her foot stung a little, but she figured if she put her sandal back on and was careful, she'd be okay. "At least it isn't a broken bone."