"She hates me," Maggie laments, and Scott and Paxton jump to contradict her in unison.

"She doesn't hate you, Maggie."

Maggie's silent for a moment, glancing back and forth between them (well, between Paxton and her computer screen).

"Okay, next time there are superhero shenanigans taking place in my house, I need to be a part of them. Because this is weird."

"Can you believe this, Paxton?" Scott says teasingly, hoping his large gesture can be seen through the webcam. "One day, she wants us to get along, and then, she says it's weird when we do. Jeez, Mags!"

Maggie groans, pressing her face into the pillow she's leaning on and pulling her blanket over her head, sticking an arm out to awkwardly wave above the couch.

"Go away, Scott. But really, is there any way you could figure something out?"

"They explicitly say 'ladies only.' I don't think ant-people count."

The scrubbing that's been the background noise in Scott's kitchen suddenly stops.

"Well, you wouldn't," says Hope, and she stops washing dishes and comes over to the bar counter, wiping the soap and water still on her hands onto Scott's shirt once she realizes she hadn't grabbed a towel. Scott winces at first, but after drying her hands off she keeps her body leaning into his and one arm casually over his shoulder, and he doesn't mind that nearly as much.

"But I could go to the tea party with Cassie...if there's no one else, of course."

Maggie flings the blanket back over her head.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Are you sure, Hope?" Scott asks, tilting his head toward her. "I mean, this is a Mommy-Daughter thing, you don't have to -"

"You have no idea how many Mother-Centric things I missed when I was a girl. I'd hate for Cassie to feel the littlest bit of that. Besides, I am dating her father. With Maggie sick, I'm the closest there is, right?"

Scott will be eternally grateful for the fact that Maggie immediately moans "Oh, you are a saint!", because it gives him a moment to compose himself a teeny bit - which is about as much as he can ask for half the time that Hope's around anyway, but he'd gotten used to being unsettled long before she'd come around.

Not that he'd ever liked it...which was the notable difference here. With Hope, it was that weird fluttery feeling you felt when you had a crush as a teenager, and at the same time, it was nothing like that, more like...meeting an idol, or being around a teacher you revered right after a big exam in their class.

Yet, at the same time, she kept feeling more and more like...like peace, and refuge, and like, well, hope.

And when Cassie squeals in glee at the offer and blows a kiss at the webcam, and Scott wipes a couple of happy tears away from Hope's eyes, he realizes that she's starting to feel like home, too.