xp_logs | Marie and Angelo, early Sunday morning

Marie calls to check on Angelo, and ends up just more worried.

Marie watched the clock, waiting for the numbers to flip from 1:59 to 2:00. As soon as they did, she dialed the number scribbled on a piece of paper in front of her, listening to the ringing a little anxiously. Hopefully he wasn't asleep.
He wasn't. He was in his room pretending to be asleep, at least until the time came for the daily hospital visit, but he was just lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He reached for the cellphone and flipped it open without thinking, catching himself in time to keep his voice quiet. "Hey, Em."
"Hey Skin," she said equally quietly, though her voice was low for another reason. "Ah'm so sorry. Ah...Ah'm glad you're ok though." She stopped, unsure of what to say next.
"Yeah", he said, shifting for a better hold on the phone. "Walked away from it - only needed the one night in the hospital an' everythin'." That wasn't quite the same as 'okay', but it would have to do.
"Ah'm glad your mom and Amanda were able to be with you. Nate too. Though this's gotta be running everyone down." She stopped herself and bit her lip. "An' Ah'm rambling. Ah'm sorry."

"'s okay", he assured her. "Nothin' wrong with a bit of ramblin'... better than not havin' anythin' to say, anyway. Nate's... busy."

"Ah'm sure he's got lots of help though, yeah?" she said, tucking one leg underneath her. "An' if y'all need anything that Ah can help...that anyone of us here can do, just let us know."

"Keep an eye on the guys at the boathouse while we're gone?" he requested softly. "I mean, if Bobby an' Rahne an' Juliette are tryin' to run the place on their own... I saw Rahne's post to the journals, an' even with Sooraya an' Yvette helpin' out... it's gotta be crazy."

"Yeah, of course. An' Ah'll let 'em know Ah can help out with Joyita too." Marie stood and started pacing around the room. "Ah mean, Ah think the girls are making sure everyone gets enough to eat, but they might not be so good at getting them to put down their work and rest." An' Ah wonder if someone's doing that for you.

"That's good - I mean, that they're at least gettin' enough food. Medusa showed up here with clerks from Attilan, so she's been helpin' Nathan out with what needs doin' here."

"Clerks? You say that like 'She showed up with extra office supplies'," Marie said dryly. "But Ah'm glad y'all are getting some extra help. Probably can't have enough hands around right now, huh?"

"...yeah", he said after a moment's hesitation. It wasn't as if he was doing much of anything useful. "Nate an' Joel... they're really busy."

"And you?" she asked, starting to pick up on the way he was talking about work. Always about other people, never including himself.

Another short silence, then, "I haven't s'much as turned the TV on since I got back here. Or the computer, except to do that one post. I can't... well, I mean. They want me to rest. But it's not just that."

"You've been through a lot," she said. "An' you do need to rest. But," she said, stopping by the window, "you said there's somethin' else goin' on?"

He shrugged, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "Just... where I don't want to turn the TV on. Not when the news might be showin'."

"In case they're still showing that clip of you and Dom? Or just you don't wanna be seeing stuff in general?" Marie asked, one gloved hand pushing the curtains aside.

"I don't need to see it", was the flat answer. "I was there. An' no, I don't want to see that clip. An' I don't want to know what was goin' on before I have to."

"Ah wasn't saying that you should watch it," Marie said, hand dropping back to her side. "But what do you mean you don't want to what was going on before ya have to? When do you have to?"

"Don't know", he said with an audible shrug. "If it comes to trials, maybe. Or just when I can't get away from knowin' it anymore. I mean... who did it. An' why. That's the goin' on I meant."

"Ange...that could be a long way off. That's a long time of not knowin'."

"I know." He sighed. "I don't know, Em. Don't know much of anythin' right now."

"You're probably still in shock." She paused, turning to lean against the wall. "You gonna see someone...to talk?"

"Nathan wants me to see Jack, when we get back to the States", he told her. "So yeah, I will."

"You gonna be alright to make it until you get back? You've got me kinda worried. You're not sounding like yourself," Marie said.

"Yeah, I'll survive", he said tiredly. "Got everyone in this house watchin' me to make sure... I'll make it. Be back in about a week, I think."

"Ok," she said, nodding even though he couldn't see. "And you know you can call me anytime, right? Not like Ah sleep much anyways."

"I know. An' I will call, I promise. When I need to."

"It's a deal," Marie said softly.