#I don't care if I have invented this wholecloth from my own imagination.

[notbecauseofvictories]

carpenter and hayward are on a smoke break discussing important things, definitely related to the running of the Grace and not just...whatever they can think of to fill the silence, when they fall into exchanging bitterly amusing work stories. hayward brings up a messy partner, who left chocolate stains on evidence and documents and also (worse, somehow) hayward's hand; carpenter rolls her eyes and offers up her first partner, who was so bowled over by every minor coincidence that she was constantly on her knees. hayward mentions the LT who called him "jimmy" for a full year; carpenter snorts and says she can top it---

carpenter's halfway through a story about vaughn---clever, black-humored vaughn, who fell out of touch once they got their fancy new job, but was a bright spot in her young life all the same---when hayward's eyes flick over carpenter's shoulder, and he goes still.

".....paige?" he says. His voice has gone panicky, quiet.

when carpenter turns, paige is the palest she's ever seen her. (and carpenter has had the dubious honor of holding paige's hair back during a recent bad bout---she's seen paige very pale indeed.)

carpenter swallows, asks, "everything all right?"

"I...want to know how it ends," paige says, almost dazed. "how does it end?"