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[controlledvariable]

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[fullmeasure]

I'd think you have to be, a little.

[Mike takes a sip of his own]

Not so far, but I do know what we're not doing again.

[controlledvariable]

Yeah.

[She gets that a little better, now, having spent so long in Exsilium feeling like she had to carry that Bat alone, with Robins that she needed to protect.

It's a different sort of perspective.]

I don't know why the hell we let Skyler anywhere near him in the first place, I knew she wasn't gonna be able to handle it.

[She had a little more hope for Jesse, since he kept his cool the last time Walter was here, but apparently she overestimated him.]

[fullmeasure]

To be fair, it wasn't as if we were expecting him like that.

[hell, Mike didn't even know him back then. He takes another sip of coffee] But letting Skyler near him at all was a bad idea. Especially considering what she remembers last.

[controlledvariable]

It was, no matter when he was coming from.

[She runs a hand through her hair, a little more roughly than is strictly necessary. It's a thing she does when frustrated.]

There's no way in hell I'd ever let my dad near my mom again, even if he was from one of the "good" times. [airquotes and all] And she's in a lot better place than Skyler is.

[fullmeasure]

[ah. Mike frowns a little; he can understand that. He's saw some pretty bad shit during his time as a cop]

I hate to say it, but we're not going to be able to keep her away from him no matter what we do. She'll do it if she wants to, regardless of how bad an idea it is.

[he taps his fingers against the table]

[controlledvariable]

Her and Jesse are variables we can't control, but there has to be something we can do to make sure they don't fuck things up too badly.

[This version of Walter sounds like he'll be easier to handle, so long as someone doesn't push him into becoming more dangerous.

And that's exactly what Skyler or Jesse might do.]

[fullmeasure]

You'd be surprised how much you can control for, and how your variables will still fuck up everything regardless.

Which is why, if we come up with a plan, we need back-up plans. Mostly for anything they can manage to fuck up.

[controlledvariable]

Usually it's my job to fuck everything up, I'm not used to being on the other side of it.

[That could be self-deprecating, but she's talking about the things she fucks up on purpose, messing with people's perfectly put together plans.

There's a reason she called herself the Spoiler.]

I think Jesse's past help. I hate to say it, but... [A shrug; it's gonna take more than they've got to get him out from under Walter.] Skyler might be a different story. And it'll make our lives a lot easier if she's coping better.

[fullmeasure]

[self-deprecating or not, Mike's eyebrows go up] Well, good thing I was usually called in to "fix" things, huh.

["Fixer", "Clean-up", any other name you could give to what he did.

But he knows what she means about Jesse; he remembers, plain as day, telling the kid to get out while he still could. And he's only heard a little of what happened after that]

"Time heals" and all. But I don't know how long it'll take for that.

[controlledvariable]

Maybe together we can figure something out.

[With Saul thrown in as well, since he's definitely a problem solver.

She picks up her pen again, not to work on the paperwork, she just needs something to fuss with, flicking it between her fingers as she thinks.]

Jesse would probably just laugh at the suggestion, but maybe we could get Skyler to talk to an actual professional. We've got all of Earth's history at our disposal.

[fullmeasure]

Saul suggested that, too. [he can't help but make a face] I guess it could work, if she'll actually do it.

[controlledvariable]

Don't look like that.

[She knows that face, okay.]

[fullmeasure]

I'm just not a fan of them, that's all.

[controlledvariable]

[She sighs.]

Most of 'em do good work, if the other person is willing to give it a try.

[fullmeasure]

Will she be willing to give a try?

[controlledvariable]

I dunno, but I can talk to her about it. And it might be good to get her away from things for a while anyway.

[She figures it's implied that going off somewhere to fuck Jesse doesn't count as getting away from things.]

[fullmeasure]

I'd appreciate that. [Mike knows Skyler as well as anyone else, but it's from surveillance, not actually speaking with her. And even if he could provide some advice, it'd be better coming from Stephanie]

I'll handle talking to the kid. Maybe drag his dumb ass on a mission while I'm at it to get him away, too.

[controlledvariable]

I think we all would.

[If Skyler can get some help and stop being so... everything, they might have more luck handling Walter.

Not that she doesn't want Skyler to be happier for Skyler's sake, it's just that making sure Walter doesn't hurt anyone has to come first.]

You're probably the only one that can talk sense into him. [a beat, and her hand goes through her hair again.

A little sadly:] I keep waiting for Saul to give up.

[fullmeasure]

[Saul said the same thing to him. He can't help but be a little amused, that everyone thinks he can get through to Jesse. He even thinks it - or hopes it, more like.

He quirks a wry grin though, and picks up his coffee]

He won't. The kid's a pain in the ass, but no one'll give up on him. Not anyone who really gives a damn.

[controlledvariable]

You didn't see him after Jesse tried to kill himself.

[Steph did, and it broke her heart.]

[fullmeasure]

[Mike heard about that. And looking back on his own experience with Jesse's self-destruction, he understands how Saul must've felt. He didn't give much of a damn back then, but he does now]

No, I didn't.

[controlledvariable]

It was pretty bad.

[That's a fucking understatement.]

Pretty sure Jesse did it just to fuck with him, too.

[Between what Jesse said about making sure he was real sorry, and Saul's own assessment of the situation, she's drawn a few conclusions of her own.]

[fullmeasure]

I can only imagine.

[he takes a long drink of his coffee. He has his own thoughts, both from experience and what he's heard here. Seen Jesse at numerous low points, both before he really knew the kid and after]

He's pretty good at trying to push people away.

[controlledvariable]

[She starts idly sketching on one of the forms, something to keep her hands busy as she thinks and talks.

What she ends up drawing is Vanadi's mask; she misses him a lot.]

That's all he did the first few times I talked to him. Didn't really have a pleasant interaction until after Walter left, the first time.

[And even that had it's ups and downs.]

[fullmeasure]

I can't say I'm surprised by that, either.

[Mike leans back in his chair, looking down into his coffee. It tasted like crap, but he was used to that. All coffee mass-produced like this was crap]

All he did was piss me off while we were on a job together - our first one. I actually ended up yelling at him, I was so mad.