fandomhigh | Professor Chaucer's Office Hours, Monday

Paige walks in during third period, it's possible there are tears in her eyes, she had a feeling he wouldn't care as much as she did that she wasn't coming with him anymore.

She laid the bag of muffins on the table in front of him and forced a smile, "I bought you these."

Geoff sees the tears immediately, and frowns.

"Thank you, Paige. What's wrong?"

Cash looks up from his spot on the couch and woofs softly at her.

Paige reaches over and absently mindedly strokes Cash's head.

"I'm not coming Geoff." she says simply, well there wasn't much reason in saying more than that was there?

Paige's statement caught Geoff by surprise, and sat back slightly in his chair and looked at her for a moment.

"I'm...really sorry to hear that, Paige. I'd been looking forward to traveling with you, and showing you around London. Can you tell me why?"

She takes a deep breath, "my sisters, I still don't feel like they need me, but well I've been getting closer to them since everything with Phoebe and Bel and me and James happened and well I don't want to leave them."

"I really wanted to go with you Geoff, I'm-I'm sorry, I'm gonna miss you so much." she says as a tear fells down her cheek.

"You can't leave your family if they need you, Paige," Geoff agreed, standing and walking over to her. He wiped the tear off her face and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm going to miss you too, my lady. But duty always comes first."

He sometimes hated the truth of that statement, but he understood the truth of it too.

She shaking a little against him and she kinda hates herself for it, for showing how much she still cared.

She took another deep breath and looked up at him, "when are you leaving?"

"Thursday, I think. Friday at the latest, but...I'd like to try for Thursday. There are...a couple of people I need to talk to, but once my classes are finished tomorrow, there really isn't anything else keeping me here."

He doesn't seem to mind that she's so upset, and he lightly kisses the top of her head.

"I hope you'll be happy back home Geoff, and...you won't just leave without letting me goodbye will you?" she asks wiping the tears away from her face.

Cos of course she's likely to handle that really well isn't she?

She looks over at Cash, "what are you gonna do with him?"

"I'm...not sure. I'd like to try and return him to Greg myself, but I have strong doubts that'll be possible. Maybe...if I let him go, on the road out of town, he'll be able to find his. He's a smart dog, and he misses his owner."

Smiling reassuringly at Paige, Geoff adds, "Of course I won't leave without telling you, Paige. I promise."

Paige nods, "yeah well at least we know House is still in this world, so Cash would at least beable to get there without having to go through any wierd wormhole or something."

Then she smiles, "well good cos I wake up and find you already gone I'll track you down and kick your cute little British ass okay?" and yes that is a very real threat!

Laughing, Geoff replies, "I have no doubt that you will, my lady. I swear it, you'll be the very last person I speak to before I leave. Will that suit?"

Paige smiles and nods, "yeah that'll suit Geoff, thank you."

She had a very bad feeling she was going to say things she really shouldn't when he left, but there wasn't much point in worrying about that now was there?

"If it's possible for me to find a way to write you, Paige, so you can tell me how you are, I will."

Smiling, he glanced over at the bag of muffins. "And if I manage to see or hear from Greg again, I'll tell him that you did a good job keeping your promise to look after me."

"There should be a way, I mean, what with the magic and everything, I'm sure we could work something out wherever you end up."

She smiles sweetly tilting her head to look at him, "I'd have done it anyway though, you know that right?" she asks

"I know you would. It's...my way of saying thank you."

A thought occurred to Geoff suddenly, and he turned away to rummage on his bookshelves. After a moment, he came back, holding out a small volume (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312097514/sr=8-2/qid=1141073107/ref=sr_1_2/102-9792933-5615332?%5Fencoding=UTF8) toward Paige.

"I'd like you to keep this. I think you'll enjoy her work."

Paige smirked, "just saying it works too you you know. But you don't have to thank me, I'm doing because..." and she trails off then, there was no point in telling him why. She expected he already knew anyway, what with him being the sensitive poet.

She took the book and bowed her head to look at it, "Thanks that's really sweet of you, I bought a few of your works you know." she shook her head smiling, "I practically had to beg Mr Phale to sell me them."

Geoff smiles and nods, then looks at the book as Paige holds it. "I understand he didn't much care for selling his inventory, so I hope what you read was worth the trouble. I'm...looking forward to reading them myself someday," he adds, jokingly.

She nodded and laughed, "oh yeah definitely worth it, your quite talented Geoff Chaucer, but then I knew that already. I'm sure you'll enjoy them yourself."

"I'll take your word for it then, milady," Geoff replies, laughing as well. "I hope you'll be sure to keep up with your own writing as well."

"I'm trying, but well I definitely find painting easier, maybe one day I'll get lucky and a muse will descend, it just seems to be on a majorly long vacation right now." she tells him frowing.

"Do what makes you happy, Paige. If it's painting, then by all means you should paint. Maybe the muse expresses herself better that way."

"I like writing to through, I'm not so god with the poetry I guess ~~fanfic on the other hand~~ but yeah I guess have at least artistic bone in my body is better than none right?"

"Everyone has some talent for the must to work with. If she doesn't speak to your writing but the writing makes you happy, do it anyway. You never know, maybe she'll learn."

He grins, and gives Paige's hand a squeeze.

She laughs and returns the squeeze, trying her best not to think about what'll happen once he's gone.

"I can always hope right?" she said hopefully.

"You should never stop hoping, Lady Paige." Geoff gives her hand another reassuring squeeze. "Stop wishing, stop expecting, but never stop hoping."

And she closes her eyes for just a moment as he calls her 'lady Paige' and she remembers, but she knows doing that is just going to make it worse. So she opens them again aware they're teary, but unable to do much about it.

And yet there's a smile as she looks up at him, "never stop hoping," she repeats and she knows he's right, cos hey she's witch, even when things seems bleakest she should in theory beable to do something to make it better, maybe not yet, but when she's older, more powerful and that thought really does make her happy, for a moment at least.

((there's a witch whimpering in my head, that's not good is it?))

Geoff returns the smile and nods. "You'll be just fine, Paige. You've always been a lot stronger than people want to give you credit for."

[ooc: Mm...noooo, probably not. *hugs*]

She swallows hard, but can't look him in eyes right now.

"Yeah I know, it's nice you believe that too though."

((*hugs back* she seems to have quietened down now, but I'm writing emo fic, so she may start up again *is evil*))

"Paige, the only person who has to believe it is you." He shrugs one shoulder and smiles. "But...I know, it is reassuring to know that others think well of you. Everyone needs that. So don't have any doubt, Paige, that I do believe you'll be just fine."

Paige is totally unsure that she'll be fine actually, she just hopes her sisters will be there to help her out (poor, poor empathic Phoebe)

But she nods, to show she believes it too, it's easier to lie without words isn't it? Especially to a poet.

"I-I should go, I have class soon and well I should probably go freshen up first." she tells him, cos she'd really rather tha whole of her language class not know she's spent the best of fifty minutes crying on and off.

Geoff nods as well. "I'll talk to you later in the week. Thursday, I think." He nods again and takes a deep breath. "I think it'll be Thursday."

Luckily her back is turned to him so he can't see that yet again she's crying.

"O-okay," she says, her voice cracking as she walks away as steadily as she can, unfortunately all the wants to do it run to the girl's bathroom and lock herself in a stall, well she is a 16 year old girl!

Professor Chaucer's Office Hours, Monday

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