It's Tuesday night. Hugh didn't exactly have an amazing time taking girls to the shrink just recently, and he's feeling down. He doesn't feel like being at the house or the flat and so he just drifts till he winds up at Sadah's. It feels safe there when everything else is chaos so there he is. She's at work. But just being at her place helps sometimes.

Meanwhile he isn't home, and so Diane was all alone. Perhaps she'd have called Viv anyway, but regardless Viv gets a call about some more driving. It's dark but they ought to practice night driving too. Viv promises to be there to get Diane in fifteen minutes.

Diane waits on the front step, smoking. It's a mild night but she's bundled up, jeans and trainers, Hugh's leather jacket on over a big sweater.

Her cigarette's been out for a minute when Vivienne shows up, so she just gets up and gets in the car.

"Hey Viv."

"Hey. You warm enough?" Viv asks. Then there's those trickles of energy and healing Viv pumps into Diane. It's not gonna cut it one day, but Viv doesn't know what to do.

She's freezing but she feels better already. Her hands go in her pockets.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She pauses, awkwardly, for a moment. "What is it you do, Vivienne?"

"I fix things. You know that." Viv isn't grasping that this is currently a question about her magic.

Diane smiles and shakes her head.

"Yes. I know. But... I always feel... I always feel better the minute I get in your truck. And don't get me wrong, I love you, but I don't think it's just your comforting personality that's doing it."

"It's just energy I suck in from other places. Might as well do some good with it. You're wasting away though, and even I can't fix death....."

If only.

Diane nods, tapping her tongue on the back of her teeth. Click click click.

"Thanks."

Viv nods. There's a sort of war of emotions inside her. She wants to say 'no more telling me you love me if you won't even eat' but she knows the problem is not as clear cut as her emotions make it. "I'm taking you to Rainbow Shores. Bunch of lots where they never made a subdivision but there's all these little roads for practice, and you won't hurt anything."

Diane nods, "okay."

Tap tap tap goes the tongue stud.

"So how's everyone? How are you?"

"We're all fucked up Diane, but I try to make sure things get better by small degrees." Viv's apparently being 'real' today.

That's what Diane tries to do too, every day, although mostly not with herself. Herself she just sorts of lets slide, lets slip away.

"It's so good of you Vivienne, really."

"It's what I do. That's all." She's Viv, she fixes things. She doesn't make messes, no more messes, she promised herself.

"How bout you, and, Hugh?"

"I'm all right."

Well that's a lie, Vivienne's got the evidence in front of her. Or rather beside her.

"Hugh is sulky and at his girlfriend's. I don't know. I never know with him. I love him, really, but I just don't know what to do with him sometimes."

"Take him on a vacation where he doesn't know anyone. Then people like me can't meddle with him and make him depressed." Viv's serious. "How d'you know where he is?"

"We're going to Philly, it's going to be awful," Diane says. "I don't really, but it's not like him to go out drinking by himself. I suppose he could be. I think she cheers him up."

This might be Diane's poor self esteem talking though. There's no real evidence.

"Sometimes he just drives. He took the girls to appointments for me and they pulled some fire alarm shit. He's probably beating himself up over it. It'll pass. I won't make him suffer them again." Viv says.

Diane sighs. She doesn't understand Hugh sometimes. He's on her for beating herself up over what she views as valid issues, and then he goes off himself on the weirdest things.

"He'll turn up."

She left him a note to call her when he gets in, she'll come home.

"I'm sure he will. He's crazy about you. This is it up ahead."

She smiles faintly. "I know he is. He's a doll really."

She loves him so much sometimes, it's painful. She just wishes she could make it work a bit better.

They pull off the shoulder and switch seats.

Diane's less scaredy about the whole process this time. Vivienne's energy boost has her feeling a lot better too, she's been feeling so crap all day, and the renewed good feeling boosts her confidence. Although she's still going to be very careful. It's fucking dark.

There really isn't much she can hurt though. Again they start out nice and slow and Viv lets Diane just ease into the whole thing.

Once she's started getting used to it's not too horrid. She thinks she could get to like it. It's a bit like guys, really.

(OOC I've got to hear how driving is like guys please)

IC

Viv just keeps encouraging her, but she's doing great.

ooc// It's not so bad when you get used to it and you might even start liking it.

bic//

She can sort of see why Hugh does it when he's upset actually.

Viv's pretty relaxed herself just sitting there in the passenger seat.

Hugh hasn't gotten Diane's message yet, he's asleep on someone else's couch, though there's hours until she's home. He'll be gone before then, but he'll leave flowers.

Viv's in no hurry though. The gas tank was full when they set out. Diane's getting good at turns and these winding little roads.

Diane's got her phone on her, she'll know when Hugh gets home if he wants her to know.

Yup, this is definitely getting better with practice, she's no longer afraid a tree will materialise from nowhere for her to hit.

Viv's not going to magic up road obstacles so it's unlikely. "Doing good hon. Few more times practicing and I'll go with you for the road test."

Diane's torn on the subject of driving. She needs exercise but at the same time the walk to work is starting to be just too far for her.

"Good, I'm getting tired of taking the bus."

"I could get you in the mornings you know?"

Diane doesn't even take the bus.

"Nah, it's okay. You've got Alec to ferry around already, don't you?"

"He doesn't call that much. I suppose a certain photographer helps him out."

Diane did indeed see then in the car the other day.

"Any improvement on that front?"

Baby steps?

"Well he's not home, it's hard to tell, but it could mean he's over there more, which might be dead on if you've spotted them and Patrick has."

Alternatively it could mean he was closeted up with his slugs more.

It's really good thing that Vivienne's playing the responsible parent because otherwise we'd have to accuse Alec of rank neglect.

"Hmm." Diane's been meaning to stop by and have a chat with the kid. He's older, of course, but she still thinks of him as a kid. He's not the mature one.

"Hmmm what?" Viv says.

"Just hmm, Alec," Diane says, eyes on the road. "I hope he's not just locked up in the lab with his precious aquatic rabbits."

"We can go by and check if you want. I'd bet on the Rex thing though. Call it a hunch."

"Nah, that's kind of... creepy, I think," Diane says. "Stalkerish ex-girlfriend behaviour, y'know."