xp_logs | [log] Marie & Angelo: Running interference. (Reply)

Marie, drawing some conclusions from M's post and her own experiences, figures out that Angelo is having nightmares and goes down to try and talk to him about it. Angelo agrees to accept some help in dealing with the after effects of the fire.

Marie put her hair clips back in as she took the stairs down to the medlab. She'd been in the process of changing out of her 'teacher clothes' when she'd read M's post on the journals. Her thoughts had stopped her and she'd put herself back together, then set out. There was no doubt in her mind who was having nightmares. A month before, she would have thought it was her and she wasn't remembering, but now she was certain it was Angelo. She knocked on his door and waited for him to answer her.

Angelo looked up from where he was half-heartedly trying to catch up on some of the large amount of work he'd missed. Apparently, healed enough to have visitors meant healed enough to do homework, even if he couldn't actually go to class. He called out, "Come in!"

"Hey, honey." Marie let herself in and closed the door behind her. "We need to talk," she said, getting right to the point.

Angelo blinked. "...We do? Not that it's not good to see you, an' all, but... we do?"

"Yeah." Marie pulled a chair over and leaned on the back of it instead of sitting down. She was dressed in a crisp, button-down pink oxford shirt, matching cotton gloves, and jeans, looking almost irritatingly perky though her expression was serious. "Are you having nightmares about the fire?"

Angelo opened his mouth, about to deny it automatically, then stopped. This was Marie, after all, and she obviously knew. "Yeah. Fires, actually. How'd you know?"

She relaxed visibly at his admission, coming around and sitting down in the chair, elbows on her knees. She looked over at him with sympathy in her eyes. "M made a post about someone's nightmares bleeding off on her. They sounded like something I might have had except that they sounded even more like yours. So, here I am to talk to you about it. I'm really sorry, hon. I'm assuming you've not said anything to anyone yet."

Angelo shook his head. "Nope. I was hopin' it'd pass..."

Marie sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor between her feet. "They don't just pass, Skin," she said quietly. She reached for his hand as she rose and pushed his books aside so she could sit on the bed with him. "That's why I thought for a minute they were mine. Stanley and I went off a walkway in a fire. Fortunately, we fell through to below it, and my burns were, well, not too extensive. That's why I twigged to it being you."

Angelo winced, squeezing her hand. "I'd've said somethin', but..." He trailed off for a moment, uncertain. "Everybody had other stuff to worry about, and they're just dreams..."

"Well, they're bugging Miss M," Marie said wryly. "And they're not good for you. What happened, that was some serious shit, Angelo, especially given what I know happened to you in L.A. I can't tell you what to do about it, but seeing a therapist really did help me a lot. Do you think you could tell anyone about it?"

Angelo curled up in the bed, trying not to remember. "Don't know", he said quietly. "Maybe."

"Skin," Marie said gently, to remind him of the similarities between them. "We do what we have to do to be strong, right?" She put her gloved hand against his scarred one, side-by-side, then wound her fingers in his. "That sometimes means getting help, admitting that we're not okay."

Angelo looked up at her, and nodded reluctantly. "Think I got too used to survivin' by myself", he said softly. "Can't seem to break the habit."

"It's not a bad habit to have," she said, thinking of her own loneliness in the fall. "Only trouble is when we can't put it down. I know it's hard. Goes against all reason to rely on people sometimes, but if you pick and choose well, it can save you."

Angelo looked away. "I don't know if I can", he admitted, almost in a whisper.

"Then we can find a way to make do until you can. Get Hank to give you something to help you sleep and all." Marie stroked his hair with her free hand. "But there's the guy coming by this weekend, right? The psych that the Professor called in. It's your choice. Let's just get you some sleep at least. Please?"

"Sleep would be good", he acknowledged. "Yeah, I'll go see him. Why not? Worst that'll happen is I won't be able to talk..."

"You're tough," Marie said approvingly. "I'm proud of you for trying. Can I grab Hank and give him a heads-up on the sleepy thing?"

"Sure." He sighed. "Guess he probably knows already..."

"I don't know how much he reads the journals, but if M goes to him, he'll probably clue." Marie gave Angelo's hand a pat and stood up. "I'll go give the news to the big blue. Can I get you anything while I'm around?"

Angelo shook his head. "Not right now. But thanks anyway."

"Sorry for blowing your coping," she said, genuinely apologetic.

Angelo half-laughed. "Marie, you know better than that. It wouldn't've lasted anyway. You were right to come down here, as usual." He managed a slight smile.

"Yeah. I try not to pry. I do. I'm doing a shit job of leaving well enough alone, but I know what it's like down here, the nightmares and the pain and all." Marie hugged herself, looking around, remembering. "You came to visit me, remember? When you were new here?"

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Don't know how you could stand it." He squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"It sucked," Marie said plainly, her expression still a little troubled. "But it's okay now." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll go tag Hank for you. You hang in there, okay?"

Angelo nodded. "Okay."

"You know where I am if you need me, right?" Marie stopped in the doorway and gave him a smile.

Angelo smiled back, with only the faintest hint of forcing it. "'Course I do. Come back soon, 'kay?"

"Yeah. Next time, with less interference and more fun. I promise." Marie closed the door behind her and headed for Hank's office, feeling slightly guilty about interfering but not certain there had been other options.