xp_logs | Angelo and Fred, December 26

Angelo arrives to collect his friend from Muir. Backdated.

Fred sat, smiling at all the equipment that sat silently in the corner of the room. Not hours ago, all the wires and dials that now rested quietly were connected to him. Doc Moira had brought him up to speed: he'd been comatose since his attempted treatment back at the Mansion and had been at Muir most of the time since then. The shock of the time that had past was nothing, however, compared to his shock when he had looked into the full body mirror they'd wheeled in.

His hair and grown a lot since he'd been conked out, and his naturally blond hair looked much brighter now that it was longer. His facial hair, that he'd had to shave off regularly since before he was sixteen, had grown wild and thankfully only grew out to little more than an advanced five o'clock shadow. Even his forearms and calves, which were apeish on the best day, had even thinned a little.

What had thinned out much, much more was Fred himself.

Doc Moira had said that his pseudoplasmic cells, the one that resulted in his appearance and powers, and contracted, folding in on themselves and dispersing their mass as vapor through his skin. Whatever it was all that meant, in the end Fred sat, dragging off a cigarette he'd gotten from one of the nurses, staring at a thin, oddly familiar young man in the mirror...

"You", Angelo informed him from the doorway, not even trying to hide the broad grin on his face, "scared the hell out of me, bro. But look at you!"

Fred turned to the voice, and grinned broadly at Angelo as he entered, "Jello!" Honestly, he was almost as glad to have a reason to stop looking in the mirror as he was to actually see his friend, "Hey man! What're you doing here? I mean, uh, heh, I know what you're doing here but you didn't have to...y'know...fly the hell out here..."

"Moira called me", Angelo informed him. "Mostly 'cause I'd been callin' her every day since they brought you here... an' hell, someone has to make sure you get back safe."

Fred smiled broadly, more than a little touched by Angelo's constant checking in, "I, uh...heh, thanks, Jello. Really. But still, yah didn't hav' to."

"Sure I did", he said easily. "Or maybe I just wanted t'make sure. So, how're you feelin'?"

Lighter? Odd? Unfamiliar? "Fine, Jello. Hey, uh, great even." Fred lied, standing up and stretching a little, "Heh, had to borrow clothes from one of the interns Doc Moira's got running around." He was currently wearing a sleeveless white button-up and bright blue corduroy pants. Catching a glance at himself in the mirror, Fred chuckled a bit, "Let me tell ya, Jello: I've, uh, had very few conversations in my time what was worse than asking some brainy hipster for his, uh, bright pants."

Angelo hadn't noticed the pants before, and stared at them a little now, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, first stop when we get out of here, we're gettin' you some new clothes. Should be somewhere on the mainland, if not here."

Fred gave a deep laugh, happy that he wasn't alone in his dislike of the pants. His face quickly became stony, after he'd calmed down, "Jello, I gotta say something, man. I, uh...look I, uh...I'm sorry, you know? About the, uh, the whole accident thing? I, uh..."

"I'm the one should be sorry", Angelo said quietly. "Should've listened to Haller when he said he didn't have medical experience, called it off 'til Jean was available. It wasn't your fault."

"Yah were doing a favor for a desperate friend, Angelo." Fred's voice was oddly resolute in his remorse. "I shouldn't have put a fire under you and Mister Haller over it. Should've been...more patient, you know?"

"Hard to be patient when you're in pain the whole time", he countered, then sighed. "Callie thinks it's her fault too, you know. Somethin' about a fight you two had over it?"

Fred blinked a few times, and then actually smiled a little, "Of course she'd up and blame...she, uh, kinda figured out how bad I was feeling, and didn't, uh, really believe I was planning on, uh, trying to get help. It was no more her fault then yours of Haller's or...you know what?" Fred sighed through his smile, shaking his head slightly, "It wasn't...anyone's fault, I guess...you know...?"

"Yeah", Angelo conceded after a moment with a wry smile of his own. "An' I also know you missed your birthday, so drinks're on me when we get home."

"You sure? Cause grain alcohol is pretty-heh-nevermind. It's cheap." Fred threw the hospital robe he'd been given over his shoulders. "But, seriously Jello: even though it, uh, turned out shit I, uh...heh, thanks for being there for me, Jello. And thanks for being here now."

"That stuff'll make you go blind", Angelo said firmly. "Good stuff for you when I'm buyin'... an' I guess it didn't turn out so shit in the end. You're welcome."