cactusy | IC contact for lastvoyages

I'm asking because I need to know how much of the patented Malcolm Bright spin I have to correct here, Givens.

Don't worry about correctin' - [Said as though he was was unbothered, like she'd maybe walked into the house with shoes on and she'd only just realized.] I'd rather hear you out without you havin' to compensate for nebulous knowledge and more assumptions.

[Since she wasn't really batting well so far in that category.]

Okay. I'm guessing it's a lot, then.

[She runs a hand over her face, suppressing another groan.]

It wasn't exactly self-defense. It was a combination of valid anger and frustration plus a traumatic response equaling an overheightened reaction. It was understandable, but not acceptable.

I don't think Graham is a monster or out of control. I'm not punishing him. But I'm responsible for him, and that means I need to know what's going on with him. If I can't trust him to keep me in the loop, then I need to keep myself in the loop.

[So very much to unpack there. Raylan is gonna take it slow.

His brow furrows a little.]

...You ever go to high-school, Shaw?

Yes...?

You ever see what happens to a kid goin' through a rough time who keeps gettin' their heads slammed or shoved into lockers by a bully? What's inevitably bound to happen?

Malcolm isn't a kid.

Look, I get that you're trying to help your friend, but my job is to get Graham to the graduation finish line, not to tend to Malcolm's short-term happiness. You know what would be really bad for his long-term happiness? Will stagnating, never graduating, and then disappearing and dying. Forever.

[He gives her an openly confused look.]

I am not talkin' about Malcolm, Shaw. I'm talkin' about Will- Will you please listen enough to hear what it is I'm tryin' to get to instead of tryin' to jump to the end of the book.

If you didn't believe me the first time I said this wasn't about punishing Will, then I don't know what else I can say to convince you, Givens.

[His brow furrows more.]

What the hell are you talkin' about? I'm speakin' English right? Those are the words I'm usin?

You said you're talking about Will, not Malcolm, yeah? So, the bully metaphor, what happens when a kid is hurt over and over again - you're trying to explain to me why Will lashed out at Avalon. Right?

Surely you can understand the need to defend yourself before a known enemy strikes you again, especially when they've been proven creditable - if you need to work with him about him comin' to you when people are bein' assholes, fine, but you like sittin' on people and callin' it a trust buildin' exercise and it's not. Presentin' it that way doesn't change the reality.

And what about Avalon - I assume that part of your 'making sure it never happens again' does involve them and their Warden - Rawne, right?

[She leans forward and pinches the bridge of her nose, muffling her voice a little.]

Okay, so, it sounds like my question does still stand. If you didn't believe me when I said this wasn't about punishing Will, then I don't know what else I can say to convince you. I do understand why Graham what he did. I don't think he's an evil monster who needs to be punished. But I failed at preventing this and Rawne failed at preventing this, and we both need to kick our asses into gear to try to keep it from happening again.

No, Shaw, I believe you when you say it's not about punishing Will. You explained it - if he's not going to let you in, you'll inject yourself. [His tone stayed soft and understanding.]

I am just sayin' that not givin' Will room to decide to come to you about this, due to the sitting, doesn't exactly further those goals. Now that doesn't mean I'm sayin' do nothin'. That doesn't mean I'm sayin' don't watch him like a hawk or monitor his movements, or hell, escort him around the ship.

[Just that, by nature, folks who are being watched will not behave in the most honest to themselves ways, which might put Shaw further away from her inmate in the ways that mattered right now.]

And I'm still curious how Avalon's bein' handled, though I suppose I can go talk to Rawne about that.

Watching him like a hawk, monitoring his movements, and escorting him around the ship is what I'm doing, so if you're not saying don't do that, then we're on the same page.

Rawne is being too passive about this for my liking, but what else is new in this place. I got him to at least consider monitoring Avalon, which seems to me like it should be a basic standard after something like this. I'm gonna keep an eye out for them lurking around, too.

Will you be trustin' anyone to help you with those tasks?

It's not a matter of trust. I'm his warden; he's my responsibility. I want to know if other people see things I might miss, but I can't just... delegate out my wardening and get reports from a third party.

At least now we're gettin' somewhere.

[He just wanted to understand how she saw things.]

Taking an hour to see your wife or go talk to Rawne is hardly abandonin' your post. I'm just sayin' - you need to put Will in a room for an hour and have someone keep an eye on him, speak up.

You and Bright are all up in arms about me following him around, but stashing him in a room like an inconvenience so I can go take care of personal crap sounds way worse to me.

Wardening business is not personal crap - one, and you're basically doin' that anyway, except you chew your liver and stew in that time instead of takin' the next step in solving the problem.

A room of his choosing, doin' what he wants, and experience sittin' outside his door so everyone gets a little breathin' room. He can't slip out a window, can't call a cab and skiptown - it's called utilizin' the willing resources around you.

[This was literally part of his job description.]

There's a reason that the Marshals Service is a successful agency, Shaw. [Teamwork. Support. Like they'd done with the monsters. Like they'd touched on and gotten into in conversations.]

I have a team at home; I know how working with other people works.

The difference is that here, nobody is on the same page.

So let's get on the same page.

It's not a "snap your fingers and it's done" kind of thing, Givens.

And this is not the first honest conversation we've had. [They both still had p l e n t y of work to do in understanding each other, but he at least understood mostly where she stood and mostly why she was doing what she was doing here. ]

So what else is it? Malcolm? [The one elephant that Raylan did not want to go directly at, but even if Shaw had been wrong, if Malcolm hadn't sent him, the Issue was clearly there. The only question was what context it was in.]

Yes. Malcolm, who doesn't understand why his inmate boyfriend needs a warden, and resents her existence.

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